Feb revivals: second half

Hey all, Mike here with what to catch for the rest of February. No time, here we go:

RAN- Wed Feb 17 and Thurs Feb 18 at 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30 - Film Forum- The end of the Akira Kurosawa retrospective, the last two days of Ran's two week run. If you haven't seen this on the big screen before, this is not what I would call a last chance anytime soon, but it's close. Anything else about it, just go to the last post and go from there.

WEST SIDE STORY or FUNNY GIRL- The Ziegfeld- Thurs Feb 19 at 4:30 (West Side) and 8 (Funny Girl)- Also, the last day of these two popular 1960s musicals run at the Ziegfeld. They will never ever look or possibly sound any better than here. Unless you have a 48 inch HD TV screen with a stereo sound system of some sort. But frankly, if you had such a thing, you wouldn't read posts like this, or own both films, so chances are, this is as good as it gets for you.

THE RED SHOES- Fri Feb 20- Thurs Feb 25 at 7 and 9:35- Film Forum- The new 35mm restoration that played to sellout or near sellout screenings at the Forum last November, returns for a one week engagement. Somebody asked me whether I'd catch this, not knowing that I went in November. I responded, then realized afterwards that the bulk of my response works in the context of this posting. I'll post it here, leaving out what isn't your business:

"Caught it back in November when it last played in at the Forum, and now that I have a membership, I'd go again. A great print, and a wonderful film. But I hate to break this to you, but unless you're into dance and/or theatre, it's considered more of a chick flick for one's mom or grandma. It outwardly seems too moldy for some women under 35 these days. Some negative attitudes seem to come for those who just hear its ballet and walk away, or were forced to watch it on commercial TV, where the running time is padded to 2 and a half to three hours. It kills the pacing, and I totally understand why someone would walk away from The Red Shoes based on that.

But on the big screen, the pacing is very good. The artistic risks taken are stunning, especially for something in the late 40s. Limiting what we know of people based mainly on what we see, with little in the way of exposition. Jamming a 15-plus minute ballet in the middle of the film. Unafraid to make the main characters unlikeable, or at least weak. But if one cares about film, just wait till they see this. The dancing is terrific as well."

So if you missed the restored print last November, or haven't seen an uninterrupted screening before, you have another great chance now.

STARSHIP TROOPERS- Fri Feb 19 and Sat Feb 20 at Midnight- IFC Center- Part of the Paul Verhoeven retrospective. An over the top sci-fi action film from 1997. Less sci-fi and more dark satire. Imagine mixing an episode of 90210 with John Wayne's The Sands of Iwo Jima. Then set it in the future as the gung ho American Marine types go off into space to fighting evil killer CGI bugs, as we're informed of what happens via some global Fox News-like network. Wait a sec, does it seem like we actually started this war with the bugs? Oh never mind, let's see some kick ass action set pieces! Wait a sec. Why do the Earth leaders look like they're wearing Nazi uniforms, and why is Neil Patrick Harris wearing a pseudo-SS uniform? Whatever, go Earth!

I feel this is under-appreciated, but I also feel I'm in the minority. Mediocre acting, aside from the likes of Harris and the ever reliable Michael Ironside doesn't help. But the cool extended action scenes and sneaky satire, is pure Verhoeven. As to whether you'll like it or not, try it, if you can stay awake that is. It is a Midnight screening after all.

COFFY for 7 dollars- Thurs Feb 25 at 7 and 9:30- Chelsea Clearview Cinemas- A cheap screening of the 1973 film that made Pam Grier a sex symbol and blaxploitation star. Simple tale, told in a somewhat cheesy, overlong manner. But fun. I mean, one can't survive on a film diet of Ran and West Side Story alone. Grier is a nurse, whose sister gets her mind destroyed by heroin addiction, and whose cop friend gets beaten into a coma. She goes undercover as a hooker, to take down the pimps, pushers, evil whiteys, and traitorous bruthas. Over the top by our standards, but if you're a fan of blaxploitation pics, this isn't Foxy Brown, but it will do. Can be seen either at 7, with intro and MST3K-like commentary by Hedda Lettuce, or at 9:30 without the commentary.

WHITE HEAT for 6 dollars- Fri Feb 26 at 8- Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre- 54 Journal Square in Jersey City- I step out of NYC, to potentially catch this Jimmy Cagney gangster classic. Yes, this is the film with "Top of the world, Ma! Top of the WOOOOORRRRRLLLLDDDD!!!!!!!"

Now I've never been to this theater, or to Jersey City for that matter. But it's a cheap price, and supposedly it's easy to get to by PATH train, so I'm willing to give it a go. As long as there's no snow to deal with, sure.

WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY- Fri Feb 26 and Sat Feb 27 at Midnight- Landmark Sunshine Cinema- The Gene Wilder cult classic gets a midnight screening. It may not be as loyal to the original Roald Dahl book as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it's a better film. Dahl wrote the original adaptation, but a massive re-write caused Dahl to badmouth the film every chance he got. And while there was better usage of the Oompa Loompas and the budget to go hog wild on the look, the family/daddy issues, especially in the last half-hour, drags the film down when compared to Willy Wonka. Maybe I like this film so much strictly for Wilder's performance. I'm ok with that.

Now considering this was not a hit back in 1971 but only became a cult classic thanks largely to NBC broadcasts in the late 70s into the 1980s, most people have no idea what this film looks like on the big screen. I include myself in that statement, but I would like to change that.

I'm leaving the screening of Five Easy Pieces,starting at the Forum on Friday February 26 for a week, until the March list. That's when I can get to it. Otherwise, let me know about the rest. Later all.

2009 films to catch up with

Mike here. With Oscar nominations out, a good number of you feel it's time to catch up with nominated films you haven't seen. So let me be your guide. I'm looking at this not only as what nominated films I haven't seen yet, but also to form a Best of 2009 list I generally post just a few hours before the Oscar telecast.

To aid us all, I'll post films that have received a 2009 release in New York and break them down in the following way:

films Oscar nominated in at least one major category that's still in theaters,

Oscar nominated films in minor categories still in theaters,

Oscar nominated films in at least one major category on DVD,

minor Oscar nominees on DVD,

and films that did not receive a nomination but stood out in 2009 in some way that it (probably) deserves to be seen as much if not more than a few of the nominees.

Along the way, I'll post comments, maybe a quickie review, with some but not all. For the record, I consider Picture, Director, the four Acting categories, the two Screenplay categories, Foreign Language, Documentary, and Animated Film to be major categories. The order posted it strictly out of convenience. Here we go:

Major nominations in theaters: Up In The Air, Crazy Heart,

Precious (comes out on DVD two days after the Oscars ceremony, so unless you have a screener, try to find it if you haven't seen it by now.),

Avatar, The Last Station, The White Ribbon, An Education

The Blind Side (please don't make me repeat my rant from the last post. If you haven't seen it by now, just wait for DVD/cable.),

A Single Man (a good performance from Colin Firth that resulted in a deserved nomination. A good performance from Julianne Moore as his lonely alcoholic fag-hag friend, for which I was surprised there was no nomination. A well done visual execution of the Mad Men era, visually. The rest of rookie director Tom Ford's choices take a long while to get comfortable with, but it pays off for the patient viewer. Even a surprising bit of humor, considering the loneliness and suicidal tendencies depicted. So good start for director Ford, but next time, please pick up the pace more.),

Invictus (almost out of theaters, so hurry),

Fantastic Mr. Fox (barley in one theater on the lower East Side, and it's almost gone. Doesn't come out on DVD until March 23rd),

The Princess and The Frog, (after President's weekend, will probably be difficult to find.),

Nine, The Lovely Bones (Yes, I know both have received lousy reviews, but they qualify. I haven't seen either one, and I only know one person who recommends both. Hopefully the facts that he paid a combined one dollar to see them because of SAG connections and he had nothing else to do didn't influence the thumbs-up.)

The Messenger, The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (both also barely in theaters; at the Village East and Cinema Village respectively.)

Minor nominees in theaters: Sherlock Holmes (I'm ok with the idea of a physical Sherlock Holmes. The idea of him turning the breaking of a man's body into a science is cool. But showing the breakdown in slow motion, then show the whole thing at super speed, then repeat the whole process ten plus minutes later, oh come on. I can learn to deal with an ass-kicking Watson, though it takes major adjusting after seeing Nigel Bruce on the constant verge of a heart attack after all those Basil Rathbone pictures. But giving Holmes only a minor mystery to solve, then spend half the film being a Victorian superhero, oh please. Throw in a lame main villain, a badly written Irene Adler with a miscast Rachel McAdams, now we have problems. But the action scenes were mostly fun, especially the shipyard scene, the whole film has an impressive look and good score, and how can you not like Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock. But guess what? The film has no ending! It takes its cue from Young Sherlock Holmes, and I didn't care for that either. Back to the Future had the same kind of ending, but they still made sure their first story could stand on its own, and Sherlock Holmes failed that standard.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Young Victoria

Major nominees on DVD: The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, In The Loop, Up (if you haven't seen any of these nominees in theaters, and chances are you haven't seen Hurt Locker and In The Loop, or if you can only catch up with so many flicks on DVD, stick with these four and fill in the rest where you can. Hurt Locker, In The Loop and Up have been re-released in at least one theater in Manhattan.),

A Serious Man, Julie and Julia,

Coraline (Director Henry Selick's best film up to this point. Sorry Nightmare Before Christmas fans, but there wasn't a lot of meat to that bone of a story. It was the characters, music and overall dark tone that sold Nightmare to me. But it's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm compared to some of the dark territories Coraline goes, especially in its more frantic second half. While this and Fantastic Mr. Fox can't keep up with its CGI compatriots in terms of box office, its nice that both films do honor to the idea of using stop-motion animation to tell feature length stories. Though I wish Coraline wasn't passive in the final fight, after being a tough cookie for so much of it.),

District 9 (I guess I'm surprised how many people I know really disliked this picture. Yeah, they could have ditched the mockumentary style earlier for my taste, and the villains in Avatar are more complex. But about ninety minutes of well crafted tension, leads to twenty minutes of payoff. Better action in those twenty minutes than in the typical Michael Bay film, and an everyman lead performance from Sharlto Copley that made every other community performer and career union background actor jealous. I mean, no acting experience, and he's the lead and does it well?!?!?

Not the one of the ten best films of the year for me, but at least it continues to be recognized as something good, so I'm fine with that.)

The Cove, Food Inc. (Two films nominated for Best Documentary; the likely winner and its major competitor, respectively.)

Departures (won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 09.),

The Baader Meinhof Complex (Nominated for Best Foreign Film in 09),

12, Katyn (two of the other nominees for Best Foreign Film of 09. 12 is a Russian remake of Twelve Angry Men. When you think about it, Russia is a country where you can buy the idea of an white male jury these days. Most of the film is pretty good, with enough Russian history and different ethnicities to make the story their own. But the last fifteen-twenty minutes, with its twists and melodramatic ending may not be for all tastes. Katyn is the opposite of uplift, usually showing humanity at its worst. Considering that what is depicted happened to director 's family, especially his father, the sense of need to tell the truth is palpable. Depicts what happened in World War 2, when Germany and Russia both invaded Poland. The Russians take over 10,000 Polish soldiers hostage, slaughter all of them, and blame the Nazis for decades, crushing citizens who say or try to prove otherwise. Slow, but brutal and haunting.)

Minor nominees on DVD: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bright Star, Coco Before Channel, Il Divo, Star Trek, Paris 36, Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen (yeah, good luck getting me to see what the Razzies refer to as Tranies Too.).

And now, other films that helped to round out 2009 in NYC:

Gomorrah (was in my top 10 of 2009 list despite not having a 2009 NYC release. For those who gave me grief without having actually seen this, you can catch it on DVD, and see how far it goes on your list. Or not. I won't repeat my rave from last year's list here.),

Sugar, Seraphine, Anvil! The Story of Anvil,

Antichrist (still playing at IFC Center, but also available on IFC On Demand. Not for under 17, mainly because it will go over their heads, and not for the squeamish, either. You'll either like it or you won't, but don't consider this a recommendation.),

Moon, Broken Embraces, Sunshine Cleaning, Where The Wild Things Are,

I Love You Man (my favorite comedy of 2009, especially after repeat viewing. Leisurely paced and the set-up is a little too cutesy for my taste, but not a bad thing that effects it overall.),

Watchman, 500 Days of Summer, Tyson, The Hangover,

Public Enemies (Johnny Depp and a very few gunfights that aren't marred by the herky-jerky digital camera movements, are the long term parts of the film that keep things interesting, and give this a thumbs-up. The script's efforts to take real life events into Heat redux, the mostly unsuccessful use of you-are-there camera shots in action scenes, and a very dull Christian Bale hurt this film),

Bruno (not quite as funny as Borat, particularly after the scene on the Jerry Springer show. But there are still some big belly laughs, like the Jerry Springer show, and the finale.).

There's your list, have some viewing fun. Later all.

Feb revivals: first half

Hey all. Mike here with what to catch for the first half of February. Normally at this point, I would have done a post of my crappy Oscar nomination picks. But this year, it seems to be anti-climatic in most of the categories, that I obviously just didn't bother. Just a couple of surprises. Two pleasant surprises in The Hurt Locker getting the most nominations (tied with Avatar), and In The Loop getting a Screenplay nomination. They will be very high on my top 10 of 2009.

But an unpleasant surprise was The Blind Side getting a Best Picture nomination, combined with the hype of Sandra Bullock have a good chance of winning Best Actress. Now Blind Side was ok; a wonderful true story told in a bland Lifetime movie style. Bullock's performance holds a chunk of the film together. It seemed too by the numbers; set up family happy time, set up poor boy time, spread out growth salvation and struggles at alternating even intervals, throw in a very annoying PG version of The Wire, then get to the happy ending. Insert the raising or lowering of the boy's IQ, depending on what is needed. The difference between trauma and lack of trauma that the kid's suffering isn't always clear, and are you telling me he really didn't know football well until high school?

Not a bad movie, the family and the teenage boy are appealing, you want them to succeed. And since you know it's a true story, nothing permanently bad will happen in the end. Something you can wait to catch on TV. But watching Charlie Rose last night, and seeing Stephanie Zacharek compare Bullock's work with Julia Roberts' work in Erin Brockovich, and then compare both the performances and the films on an almost equal footing . . . oh, please. Has it really been almost 10 years, has everyone forgotten the multi layered film, with very good performances, well constructed script and quality direction. And Ms. Zacharek compared this to The Blind Side? Either she was basking in the glow of fun company on TV, or she's a hack. Will have to read her reviews and decide for myself. In the meantime, on with the list. Here we go . . .

YOJIMBO and SANJURO- Wed Feb 3 at 5:25 (Yojimbo), 7:30 (Sanjuro) and 9:20 (Yojimbo)- Film Forum- Part of the Akira Kurosawa retrospective. A double feature of another Toshiro Mifune-Kurosawa team-up. Here, Mifune plays arguably his most famous character, a wandering ronin, in Yojimbo and it's pseudo-sequel, Sanjuro. Yojimbo is where Mifune plays both sides of warring clans in a small town against each other to maximize profit, until it goes too far. Sanjuro is where Mifune helps a clan of young samurai wannabes, with an old world viewpoint and philosophy, battle against the corrupt, power hungry faction that controls a small city. In both films, Toshiro plays a man with a gruff, almost belligerent exterior, that hides a code of honor. Also in both films is Tatsuya Nakadai, as a formidable villain. You don't have to them in order, which is good considering if you intend to catch the double feature at night, you won't be able to. Yojimbo itself is in my personal top 100, and the evening would end on a high note.

DERSA UZLO- Thurs Feb 4 at 1, 3:45, 6:30 and 9:15- Film Forum- Part of the Kurosawa retro. From 1975 (released in the U.S. in 1977), Kurosawa directed and co-wrote this adaptation of the novel Dersu, okhotnik, finding the story appealing after his failed suicide attempt. A Russian captain in the late 19th Century bonds with the Asiatic hunter who saved his life. After years of friendship, the hunter finally agrees to live with the captain and his family in the city. But after all those years in the wilderness, is it too late for the mountain man to live in society again?

Not a big hit, but a return to creative prominence for Kurosawa. A Foreign Language Film Oscar (the first Academy Award a Kurosawa film ever won I think), was among the international awards this film received. The start of Kurosawa's late in career re-boost, similar to say, what Clint Eastwood experienced with Mystic River. Kurosawa followed this up with two films even better. First, Kagemusha, one of the best of 1980 that I just didn't have the time to commit to again, but you should see if you can on a large screen tv. This was followed by . . .

RAN- Fri Feb 5- Thurs 18 at 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30 - Film Forum- The end of the Kurosawa retrospective, this gets a two week run. I won't bother breaking it down to particular days, I'll just post the run and the three screenings it has each day, and let you decide when and if you want to catch it.

Never mind that this is the best version of King Lear ever put on screen or TV. There may not be a better screen version of a Shakespearean play ever. Do you know of any on this level? Tell me in your comments, I'd like to know.

Tatsuya Nakadai (previously mentioned in the Yojimbo/Sanjuro section, as well as High and Low on the last list) stars in the best known later-in-life film of both his and Kurosawa's careers. The old man Great Lord decides now is the time to retire, and splits his vast kingdom among his sons. But two of his sons are greedy bastards, want what they want, and don't have much love for a father who may not have been a very good guy at the height of his powers. And this old man gets to watch as his family, his kingdom, his good name, and his sanity begin to fall apart and die out. I haven't even gotten into all the surrounding characters; the scheming wives, lieutenants, servants and so forth. Never mind the massive collateral damage that occurs to them, and especially to those who don't have a name worth remembering, yet must serve one of these factions, and must serve with honor.

The kind of film that would be tough to see on a non-HD TV I would imagine. But if it was an HD channel or DVD with a great sound system, that would be good. So on the big screen, like Dr. Zhivago, the score and cinematography just cause Ran to soar. It's the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing it. From a Larry Miller joke I like to quote often . . .

Worldwide acclaim, awards, and good box office followed Ran, propelling Kurosawa back to among the top living filmmakers back in 1985, assuming he ever fell out of that list back then. An Oscar for the Costumes, nominations for Art Direction, Cinematography and Kurosawa himself for Director. It was trampled by the Out of Africa juggernaut; funny how that sounds now, or as recent as 1990 for that matter. Kurosawa was nominated as Director for the first and only time and lost to Sydney Pollack. Kurosawa's film mentioned above, Dersa Uzlo, did win Foreign Film, and normally the director gets the Oscar, but I'm not sure if he actually received it. He did eventually receive an Honorary Oscar, as you can see above, pictured with presenters George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Ran was also barely accepted in Japan as well; he couldn't get funding for Ran there (like most of his later in life films), and when it was nominated, it was mainly for the costumes and lighting. I'm guess I'm surprised and not surprised at all by this. If I knew more people who have actually seen Ran, maybe I'd feel differently. But it plays for two weeks, so you have your shot.

TOTAL RECALL- Fri Feb 5 and Sat Feb 6 at Midnight- IFC Center- Part of a series of Paul Verhoeven films screened at Midnight at IFC Center. One of the better action summer blockbuster flicks, and one of the best films of 1990. I'd argue with anyone about the former statement, and as for the later; let's just say there were quite a good number of quality films released that year, but filling the last 2 or 3 slots for a top 10 list is not that easy. You try it, and don't you dare put stuff like Home Alone or Kindergarten Cop there. Not that we should think of this as flaw-free, mind you. But Verhoeven rarely stints on excess. If there's a chance to make something emotionally or visually over the top, good Paul never seems to miss out on the opportunities. I suppose that makes it appropriate that the first Verhoeven retrospective around here in recent memory should be playing only at Midnight.

Here, in the biggest commercial hit ever made out of one of Phillip K. Dick's stories, set in 2084, a mild-mannered man wants to take a quick vacation, by having an adventure downloaded into his brain. But it causes a problem, when it appears he's actually some form of secret agent, the secret agent has info and said secret agent's personality and memories are, let's say, on hold. Then you have all these men coming out of the woodwork trying to kill him.

So it's similar to those innocent man-on-the-run kind of flicks, like Hitchcock's The 39 Steps or North By Northwest. But then you add Arnold Schwarzenegger, character actor types like the ever reliable Michael Ironside, gun battles all over, Sharon Stone (two years before Verhoeven's Basic Instinct) sweating in barely there clothes, and this is before the trip to Mars and the appearance of mutants. The action scenes are good, and the mix of dark humor, cheesy humor, high quality visual effects and editing, make this what a lot of more recent summer blockbusters fail to be, fun.

Oscar nominations for the sound, a special achievement Oscar for the visual effects. Meaning there wasn't enough votes to consider any other 1990 film than this. Considering Terminator 2 was only about 13 months later, we can think of Total Recall as the last of model/matte painting/makeup kind of big budget film, as opposed to the CGI blockbusters after that. Not that I'm trying to hate CGI heavy flicks like say, Lord of the Rings, Watchmen or Avatar, but there's a difference.

Oh yeah, did I mention the violence? Not sure how that aspect holds up today. But for 1990, the bloodshed and body count, things Verhoeven have never been shy about depicting, stood out to the point that Total Recall was originally given an X rating. It took slight trims and alternate angles of some of the more outrageous deaths to get that R rating. All and all, a fun film that luxuriates in its excesses. Let's do this, shall we?

THE SHINING- Fri Feb 5 and Sat Feb 6 at 12:10AM- IFC Center- But if you prefer a better, albeit, longer film at that time, you have another chance with The Shining. Don't worry, this will probably again down at least several times this year.

CRUMB with ABDUCTEES- Sat Feb 6 at 8:15 - MOMA - Part of a series of praised, moderately successful documentaries that premiered at the Film Forum. Crumb is shot over 6 years from the late 80s to the early 90s, trying to give us a look into the life and mind of Robert Crumb, big deal artist in the underground comic movement, and probably best known for the creation of Felix the Cat. We see a man coming from a bullied childhood (from both other kids and at home), who eventually made himself successful through his pen. You should laugh with this film, as Crumb is interviewed, along with his wife and ex-girlfriends, among others. But you'll definetly be uncomfortable as well, because if you think Robert Crumb is strange, wait till you see his mother and older brother Charles. I'd say what is shown between Robert and Charles make the heart of the film. And seeing Charles and younger brother Maxon might just scare the crap out of you, and if you come from a heavily dysfunctional family, even you might say, there but for the grace of God go I.

Director Terry Zwigoff had trouble making this documentary, no money, little experience, and suicidal depression. But Crumb launched his career, with films like American Splendor, Ghost World, and Bad Santa, among others, to follow. If you think you can handle this, let's go for it.

Preceded by Abductees, a British documentary short from 1995. Using animation, images, and hypnotherapy to tell the stories of patients who claim to have been alien abductees. I know nothing else about it.

But for something that's relatively more fun, try this next one . . .

THE ATOMIC CAFE with THE SMELL OF BURNING ANTS for free (subject to availability)- Fri Feb 12 at 7 - MOMA - Part of MOMA's series of standout documentaries that premiered at Film Forum. From 1982, this dark comedic film is comprised entirely of U.S. government films, ads, and TV and radio broadcasts, from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. They're to teach the population, that everything will be cool, if we ever end up in nuclear conflict with those damn Commies. No narrators, no talking heads, and no multiple viewpoints. Just one; that the government churned out propaganda to keep the citizenry docile, which seemed to work as far as the filmmakers are concerned. Among the people in the shorts, you can look at Presidents Truman and Ike, Vice President Nixon, and future Presidents LBJ and Reagan. Others appearing on-screen include Krushchev, Einstein, General MacArthur, J. Edgar Hoover, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, Senator Joe McCarthy, and some guy named Stalin. And shorts that range from duck and cover, to soldiers being told it's ok to be near a nuclear explosion (you have goggles), to the effects of nuclear tests on Pacific islanders who live nearby.

It became a big hit in Britain, at the time of the debate about cruise missile deployment against the Soviets, and became a film to rally around during the disarmament movement overseas. Here in the states, not so much. Here in New York however, it developed a major cult following, and was a Midnight movie fixture downtown for years. Now it can be seen for free, subject to ticket availability. Preceded by a 1994 documentary short, The Smell of Burning Ants, about a young boy struggling to grow up.

WEST SIDE STORY or FUNNY GIRL- The Ziegfeld- Fri Feb 12- Thurs Feb 19 (no screenings on Wed Feb 18), at 1, 4:30 and 8 (when each film plays is explained later)- Two of the more popular musicals to have ever played at the Ziegfeld, either as a re-release or as a revival screening, play together for a one week run. Separate admission I'm afraid. They space the films out too far for double feature purposes. West Side Story, one of the best musicals ever made and in my personal top 100. If you've never seen this on the big screen, wow. What a great place to catch it. An even better large screen experience than Ran. And Funny Girl, that made Barbara Streisand an Oscar winner and an A List star forever and ever; just in case her concert and TV appearances and her albums hadn't done that already. The songs, especially My Man (sung, not lip-synced), should sound great on the Ziegfeld's speakers.

That's all for now. Let me know. Later all.

Thanks

Hey, all. Mike here not with a new list, but simply giving thanks for catching the following revivals over the past calendar year:

TRUE CONFESSIONS (a forgotten Robert de Niro/Robert Duvall pairing that I wish those of you out there who don't know it, would catch. And unless you go under the pseudonym of Myles Moffit, you probably never heard of it. A very good morality tale told in the guise of a film noir, similar to L.A. Confidential. Jump on this on Netflix.),

MY MAN GODFREY (a wonderful screwball comedy that deserves a higher reputation than it has. And it's reputation is pretty good.),

I'M NO ANGEL,

LAWYER MAN, BLONDE CRAZY (Part of a Joan Blondell double feature. The first one was disappointing, but Blonde Crazy was a very pleasant surprise. A con man/person film with bits of romance and comedy thrown in, with terrific leads in Blondell and Jimmy Cagney. This one is ripe for a remake),

NIGHT AND THE CITY (The original. I won't say "let's pretend the de Niro remake doesn't exist. But except for the Gene Tierney scenes, this film noir holds up),

Z (well crafted, angry political thriller with an ending that kicks you in the teeth for good measure. Jump on this Netflix),

BRUTE FORCE (not every revival can be a winner. Not bad, But for something that was highlighted by the Criterion Collection, I expected better),

LEON MORIN: PRIEST (a philosophical discourse of religion that you'd expect to be boring but isn't. With good character study work to boot. Boy am I beginning to embrace Melville as a director more and more each year),

CATCH-22 (underrated black comedy. I'd say catch it on Netflix, but I wonder how much this would work on some of you on TV),

SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA, RASHOMON,

10 RILLINGTON PLACE (British serial killer film based on a true story. Richard Attenborough succeeds as the milquetoast killer, but John Hurt stood out more as the rather stupid husband framed for his wife's murder. Incredibly difficult to play someone with a 70something I.Q. without going into overacting, but Hurt walks that line and gives an acting lesson to all in the process),

THE KILLING, ALIEN,

THE LION IN WINTER (boy do I wish more people know this film more. Wonderful script, with Hepburn and O'Toole working at their peaks),

TITUS (deserves to be seen on a big screen. Bloody good, figuratively and literally. Good leads, and plenty of recognizable people who would later work on shows such as 24, The Tudors, Damages and Dollhouse),

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (the 1979 Sensurround edit of the original series' pilot, which cuts some subplots and a portion of the bad acting. But not all. On at least two occasions, the guys who came with me, all of whom had either never seen the original series, or hadn't seen it since Reagan's first term, went to me and said "Wow, you weren't kidding about the bad acting.". Yeah, like THAT was why I was dragging people to see this),

THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, IN A LONELY PLACE, ODD MAN OUT, FAT CITY, SOME LIKE IT HOT, TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2,

THE RED SHOES (this will replay next month at the Forum. If you missed this before, and you're a fan of either dance or film making, this picture will wake your ass up real quick),

SMALL CHANGE (Would be interesting to see this as part of a double feature with another French film, The Class. See Small change first, a mostly upbeat look at kids growing up and the adults around them. Then follow that with The Class; shot over thirty years, from the perspective of a teacher burned out from dealing with kids at least 2-5 years older than the group from Small Change)

THE INVISIBLE MAN, FRANKENSTEIN,

THE KING OF COMEDY (another black comedy that needs to be put on your Netflix now. If you're a de Niro/Scorsese fan and you don't know this, and you're 18, shame on you),

IN THE LOOP, and THE HIDDEN FORTRESS.

31 films in all. 7 less than last year, but at similar levels as the previous years I've been doing this. Thank you for all who caught at least one. Special thanks to Ed, who took a chance on so many of these pictures, at times merely on my insistence, I'm grateful. Later all.

Jan revivals: second half

Hey all. Mike here with what to catch for the second half of January. Normally around this time, I'd worry about catching potential award nominees/winners, so this list would have to be strict in terms of what I absolutely want to catch and make time for. But I've been catching a lot more new releases over the past three weeks, so I can post a few more maybes. Now I might have to do that next month, but for now, I can afford to make this list a little longer. Of course I'd like to catch as many on this list as possible, so I won't sort out the maybes in case they turn you off. So here we go:

LABYRINTH - Fri Jan 15 - Sun Jan 17 at Midnight - Landmark Sunshine Cinema - It appears to be a Martin Luther King Jr. weekend tradition: midnight screenings of Labyrinth down in the East Houston area.

A flop back in the summer of 1986. A cult following today. Personally, I think the cult is bigger in say, L.A. and Chicago than here. It feels to me that; if there is more of a following in terms of mid80s Jim Henson work, then it would be more for Fraggle Rock then for this flick. When you hear those from 26-30 in NYC, who had HBO back then, talk lovingly about the show, or even Tina Fey, when she compared Paris Hilton's wig with a Fraggle, you might come to the same idea I did. That said, tell me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Labyrinth the only Jim Henson film to be re-released in a 2 disc DVD set to actually sell pretty well? Someone's rocking out to this.

While babysitting, Teenager Jennifer Connelly gets sick of her little brother, and wishes him taken away by some goblins. Why a mid 80s teen would pick goblins, who knows? But she gets her wish, as Goblin King David Bowie does exactly that. Jennifer goes off to David's Goblin castle to keep the rugrat from becoming a goblin. And of course, has to go through the title set of mazes to get there.

Executive produced by George Lucas, but hey, at least it's better than the other film he produced from that summer, Howard The Duck. Directed by Henson, who co-wrote the story. Monty Python's Terry Jones wrote an early version of the screenplay, with some kind of uncredited re-writing from Elaine May. Hell, I'll give this a shot. And because this falls on a four day weekend, Landmark Sunshine Cinema will also have a Sunday night Midnight screening, to go along with the Friday and Saturday night ones. If you don't have to work the next day, the Sunday nighter might be fun.

THE HIDDEN FORTRESS - Sat Jan 16 at 3:40, 6:20 and 9 - Film Forum- Part of the Akira Kurosawa retrospective, and probably the most fun film that I can post from this series. A samurai film that isn't heavy handed or solemn. Here, a gutsy princess is protected from evil men by someone who is good with a sword. They're accompanied by two companions; one tall and skinny, the other short and round. And they constantly run into a likable rogue, whose capable of coming in to save the day. DOES ANY OF THIS SOUND FAMILIAR? Seriously, I know Kurosawa was so upset with Sergio Leone virtually copying Yojimbo into A Fistful of Dollars that Akira sued the filmmakers. Yet did he ever consider legal action against Lucas? Anyway, a good mix of action and humor, with a great early set piece with hundreds of extras making a prison break. Sorry that it's only a one day/night screening, but come on out.

HIGH AND LOW - Fri Jan 22 at 6:30 and 9:15 - Film Forum- Part of the Kurosawa retro. Adapted from an Ed McBain 87th Precinct novel, so if this feels at least a little like Law and Order, at least you can know one of its descendants. Now in this film noir, especially the start and end, you have a morality play. And inside all of this, you have a breakdown of those who rose from the ashes, so to speak, in Japanese society after WW2, and those who never got out of the slums.

Toshiro Mifune plays a cash strapped businessman who ponders whether or not to pay a ransom demand. And you have another Japanese star, Tatsuya Nakadai, as the super cool policeman investigating the aftermath. Very good film. Shot in black and white, except for one cool shot. Worth catching.

BATMAN (1989) and/or SLEEPY HOLLOW- Sat Jan 23 at 5 (Batman) and 8 (Sleepy)- MOMA - Part of a Tim Burton retrospective. Not just the films are covered, but also Burton's drawings and other artwork are covered as well. Both films can be seen for one admission. Now I've brought up the 1989 Batman before. Underrated in the wake of Christopher Nolan's two Batman flicks, but as I said, I brought it up before, and I'm not in the mood to go through it again.

Actually I'm not really in the mood to do anything thorough about Sleepy Hollow. Tim Burton's reworking of the old Headless Horseman story. Successful back in the holiday season of 1999, forgotten today.

More important for Depp's career then for Burton's. You might not remember, but back in the 90s, Depp had zero hit films between Edward Scissorhands and this. Sorry, Ed Wood was liked, but was a flop at the box office, as was Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. Donnie Brasco and Don Juan DeMarco did ok, but only in relation to budget, and Pacino and Brando respectively, deserve most of the credit in terms of draw. So at some point, you need something people will run to see, or you can make invisible art films till the dawn of time. Sleepy Hollow changed that, even if it seemed like Depp played Ichabod Crane as one part Sherlock Holmes, and one part fourteen year old girl who falls in love with Christina Ricci's breasts.

Sorry about that last comment, but Paramount seemed to have spent about as much advertising dollars highlighting Christina's assets as they did on the cool looking Headless Horseman. Note above street billboard picture. Actually back then, when combined with The Opposite of Sex and Buffalo 66 the year before, we thought we would be talking up Ricci as a major leading film actress right now. Now, after weight loss that made her head look larger than her body (I knew jealous women who would use that as a reason for unnecessary hatred toward her), and not-so-great film choices (forget Speed Racer, if you could watch more than ten minutes straight of Prozac Nation, you're better than me); well let's just say that with four films coming up according to imdb, let's hope for her sake one of them is decent.

Whoa, I just noticed my rambling. Too late to edit now. Let's just say, Sleepy Hollow may not treat the original source as sacred and untouchable, but it looks and sounds great, and has a fun cast surrounding Depp and Ricci. This includes Miranda Richardson, Michaels Gambon and Gough, Jeffery Jones, and 3 Sith Lords: Christopher Lee, Ian McDiarmid and Ray Park. Good luck finding Christopher Walken. Nominations for the Cinematography and Costume Design, an Oscar for the Art Direction. Anyway, seeing the two films together should be fun.

THE BAD SLEEP WELL - Tues Jan 26 at 6:40 and 9:30 - Film Forum - Part of the Kurosawa retro. Never seen it, but would like to. Toshiro Mifune doesn't believe his father committed suicide, and is willing to tear apart his father's company to find out the truth. So yes, it does follow the Hamlet template, and is now set in the corporate world. But Kurosawa is more interested in depicting the corporate corruption running rampant in Japan by 1959/60. If there's a theme, it seems to be a reworking of a famous Benjamin Franklin saying. For this film, it would probably be: Those who sacrifice Honor for security deserve neither. Seems interesting, though I have been warned about it being a little on the slow side, so there's a small heads-up on that.

THE SEVEN SAMURAI - Fri Jan 29 at 8:20 and Sat Jan 30 at 1, 4:40 and 8:20- Film Forum - Part of the Kurosawa retro. In my personal top 35, and the first film that tends to get mentioned when one brings up Kurosawa/Mifune. One part epic and one part first modern action film.

A peasant village, filled with mostly vain, selfish people, are under constant attack. So they hire unemployed, noble samurai to protect and defeat the villains. Seven in total, mostly noble, except for Toshiro Mifune's character, who seems to be one part man, one part wild animal. Some great action set pieces, while we take the time to get to know each samurai and enough of the peasants, so that said action set pieces carry heavy emotional resonance.

The kind of big budget epic that this, along with Godzilla shot at the exact same time, almost drove Toho Studios to bankruptcy. Luckily for the studio, it became (I think) the biggest hits they ever had. Oscar nominations for Art Direction and Costume Design, but NOT Foreign Language Film. Ok, so La Strada wins, it's Fellini, I can't say crap about that. But the Japanese representative that was nominated was The Burmese Harp. What the hell is The Burmese Harp? Somebody please tell me who've seen it . . .

Anyway, as I said, in my personal top 35. There are not that many films better as far as I'm concerned. And while I'm at, I like Avatar. I do, quite a bit. But, if you think Avatar as good as an action epic can get, you're over 21, you claim to like film and you haven't seen Seven Samurai, then I challenge you to get up and see this. What, you can't read subtitles and this isn't in 3-D? Oh, shut up and see this already. It's playing for two days, I just post what I can probably be available for. You don't even have to go with me, just do yourself the favor and go. It's on the Criterion Collection, so you can rent it if you prefer. Just see it already.

But I do warn you; the film is three hours, twenty-seven minutes, and the Forum might have an intermission. They did back when I saw it on 2002. A side story; I saw it on Sept 10, 2002. That was the date when I went that night. It was so long, it was after midnight when we came out. We felt elated, coming out of the film. But that's when we realized it was now Sept 11, 2002, so some melancholy set in. Nothing else, just a side story that came to mind. There's no good lead-in from that to the last film on this list, so I continue.

THE EVIL DEAD (Uncut director's print) - Fri Jan 29 and Sat Jan 30 at Midnight- Landmark Sunshine Cinema - A midnight screening of the cult horror classic that started Sam Raimi's career. A horror classic that, despite the ultra low budget this must have been shot on, holds up well. The screening is billed as some sort of uncut director's print. Don't know what that means exactly, except maybe no intentional darkening of a certain tree scene.

Heaviest emphasis for me is on all things Kurosawa, followed by the Burton double feature. Anything else would be a bonus. Let me know. Later all.

Jan. revivals: first half

Happy New Year all. Mike here with what to catch for the first half of January. Sorry I couldn't post this sooner, but the holidays just kept me from jumping in until now. Longish list, so let's start with quite a number of double or triple feature options for Saturday Jan 2nd, or later today.

PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and/or either THE HANGOVER OR ED WOOD and/or DRACULA (1931)- Sat Jan 2 at 2 (Plan 9) and/or either 4 (Hangover) or 5 (Ed Wood) and/or 8 (Dracula)- MOMA- This looks complicated, understandably. Basically, you can see one film, or up to three of the four films listed above, all for one admission. For example, if you show up to buy a ticket for something at 2pm, you have the chance to get a ticket for any of the other films being screened that day, as long as none of their screening times conflicts.

In other words, you can buy a ticket for the laughably awful Plan 9 From Outer Space, then get a ticket at the same time for either The Hangover (a comedy that won't be in my top 10 list of 2009, but is fun with some hysterical set pieces) or Ed Wood (a good film, but I feel that some people confuse this picture with having the same high quality of Martin Landau's excellent performance, and it's just not so), then conclude with the Dracula featuring Bela Lugosi's classic Count. If you do Plan 9 Hangover then Dracula, you get a bit of break between the first 2, but you have time for a quick dinner between the second and third film. If you do Plan 9 Ed Wood then Dracula, you have time for a slightly long lunch, but no real time between the second and third film. Now if you don't want to catch Dracula, there's another revival option on Saturday night:

MURMUR OF THE HEART - Sat Jan 2 and Wed Jan 6 at 9- Walter Reade at Lincoln Center- Part of the mini Louis Malle retrospective. I enjoyed the last one they had about over 4 years ago, and a smaller variation starts now. Another coming of age film from Malle, and while it's not the most controversial film of his career (that is Pretty Baby and it's not even close), the set-up of the story is still, well frankly, unsettling when written out. But handled more sensitively than you would expect. A young teenager comes of age in 1950s France. The only person he constantly gets along with is his mother, despite her smothering. Near the end, all they have to turn to are each other. And yet, there's a surprise after that. Surprising soft-hearted and tender. If you don't/ can't do it as an alternative to Dracula on Saturday night, it will be screened again next Wednesday night.

MY DINNER WITH ANDRE - Mon Jan 4 at 4:10 or Wed Jan 6 at 6:15 with a post film Q and A with Wallace Shawn- Walter Reade at Lincoln Center- Part of the Louis Malle retro. The 1981 film that became a sleeper art house smash, thanks largely to Siskel and Ebert's praising and constant selling of the picture. You can decide for yourself. Is this almost feature length conversation between Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory an exciting exchange of ideas and meshing of personalities, or a possible cure for insomnia when it doesn't tick you off. And if you go on Wednesday night, you can try to share your feelings with Shawn himself, who will do a post film Q and A.

TAKING OUT with an introduction from director Milos Forman and A THOUSAND CLOWNS - Tues Jan 5 at 7:20 (Moving Out) and 10 (Clowns) - Film Forum - The last of the Madcap Manhattan retrospective. First, Taking Off, a comedy and the first English language film from director Milos Forman. Made because Universal decide to give young talented directors a budget of less than one million, and not interfere with either choice of project or final cut, just like Columbia did with Easy Rider. Moving Out was one of the seven. Buck Henry is one of the parents looking for their runaway teenage daughter. They go down to the Village, and WOW, is THIS what the counter culture LOOKS LIKE? AND IS THAT POT?!?!? Let's try some . . . keep an eye out for Ike and Tina Turner performing and Kathy Bates and 70s fave Jessica Harper in small roles. Forman himself will introduce the screening.

Next, the Oscar winning A Thousand Clowns. Jason Robards stars in this romantic dramedy, as a middle-aged nere-do-well, struggling to avoid work. But may need to change or else he could lose custody or his ward. And will he fall for his social worker, played by Barbara Harris? Adapted by Herb Gardner from his own play, a very New York film to be sure. Nominations for Picture, the Screenplay and the Music, an Oscar for Martin Balsam for Supporting Actor.

IN THE LOOP for free (subject to availability)- Fri Jan 8 at 8 - MOMA - A comedy that will take a dramatic change to blast this off my eventual Top Ten of 2009. The best comedy of 2009, and also the best film made from a TV series with the same or similar number of original cast members from the series. Now granted, that's a small number with the most notable titles being Sex And The City and Star Trek.

But I'm not trying to damn with faint praise. It's also one of the best satires, political or otherwise, in a long while. The film comes from the British series The Thick of It, a descendant of "Yes, Minster" and "Yes, Prime Minister", and written and shot in the same style as both versions of The Office. In this film, Presidents and Prime Ministers seem to set the agenda for their respective governments, but it's up to others lower in the food chain to implement and sometimes, actually decide the policy. Or change the policy to stay in power, by any verbal means necessary. And if you're in the British government, do not piss off the American government.

When a low level Minister accidentally remarks that major power war involvement in the Middle East is "unforeseeable", then accidentally makes a statement advocating war when trying to recant the previous statement, it launches a shit storm between both the American and British governments. Also fighting are 2 factions within the U.S. govt., between a war pushing Rumsfeld-type, and anti-war Hillary and Colin Powell types. All with their own acolytes that might be for or against them. Both sides trying to convince the Brits to get on board. And how does everyone deal with each other? Pretty much like high school. The bigger the insults in a world where words cause harm, the better. And winning is all that matters, damn the opposition, and us.

Now did I mention at any point this film is hysterical? It never sacrifices humor just for a jab. At times, it figures out how to do both, but priority one is humor. On occasion, the characters sound too similar to each other, but will you be laughing too hard to notice? Probably. Scenes are stolen left and right by Peter Capaldi, of who it would be a major disappointment if In The Loop is too small to get him noticed for a Supporting Actor nomination. He plays the British (but don't call him FUCKING ENGLISH!!!!) communications manager who, despite his title, can verbally intimidate and/or crush his subordinates, and other ministers, even those supposedly more powerful than he. The character is modeled after Tony Blair's press secretary, Alistair Campbell after all.

But does he meet his match against the Americans? The film seems partly set up as a Clash of the Titans between Capaldi's Malcolm Tucker, and James Gandolfini's Powell-esque general. Maybe it feels that way because of Gandolfini's impact as Tony Soprano. But the scenes between Capaldi and Gandolfini are nothing short of electric and show-stopping.

I'm sorry this film was never able to expand

beyond art houses, and that terrific reviews and the occasional critics awards to either Capaldi and/or the Screenplay are the only acknowledgement that can be expected. You probably didn't see it either, but you have the chance to change that on Friday the 8th, for free, subject to availability. I believe on Fridays, tickets become available at about 4:30.

JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING- Fri Jan 8 and Sat Jan 9 at Midnight- Landmark Sunshine Cinema- One of the better horror films, possibly the best from the 1980s, gets a midnight screening. One of few that I can think of where a remake tops the original. Alien shape-shifting life crashes onto Earth, and in order to exist, it must live like a virus and wipe out or take over the life that already exists on whatever planet it exists on. Which in this case is us. And it's up to an isolated group from an American scientific station, desperately playing catch up and grasping for theories, to stop it. But when it starts taking them over, and becomes hard to tell which of them are human and which are not . . .

Kurt Russell makes a great action lead, with character actors like Keith David, Donald Moffat, and Wilford Brimley filling out the talented cast. The make-up effects grossed out some audiences (damaging potential word of mouth) and most critics, but they don't feel too over the top and still hold up today. Especially one scene where one portion tries to escape from another part in a very memorable way. If you haven't seen it, I'm not spoiling this.

The gross out factor, some brutal reviews, the R rating that made the PG rated Poltergeist more accessible, and just being released in the summer of 1982, where if you weren't E.T. (the happy alien movie released two weeks earlier), than you probably struggled at the box office. All of this helped make The Thing a high profile flop. But like another high profile flop released that very same day, Blade Runner, The Thing has also been re-evaluated and risen to both cult status and to the heights of its respective genre. Not AFI top 100 level like Blade Runner, but close enough.

STRAY DOG - Sat Jan 9 and Tues Jan 12 - Thurs Jan 14 at 7 and 9:30- Film Forum- The start of an Akira Kurosawa retrospective that will last until early February at the Forum. The first retro they've done of Akira's work since the summer of 2002. Since that summer, when I caught several of his work, I make it a point to catch at least one Kurosawa film I haven't seen before or haven't see in over ten years.

Something to look forward to for me. I expect to break that mark with this retrospective. And you can expect me to post a number of his films over the next several lists.

Stray Dog, the first Japanese film noir I think, gets a special nine day run; I've only listed the day and evening times I think I can make as of this writing. Never seen, but I've liked all the previous Kurosawa- Toshiro Mifune team-ups I've caught in the past. Except for The Hidden Fortress, please God, don't make me sit through that again. So I have hopes for this one. But because I haven't seen it, I'll have to copy and paste the Forum's pitch:

(1949) KUROSAWA NOIR: While a rubble-strewn Tokyo swelters through a torrid heat wave, awkward young white-suited detective Toshiro Mifune finds to his shame that his pistol has been stolen — and then that it’s been used in a murder. Thus begins his obsessive, guilt-ridden search, highlighted by a nearly ten-minute dialogue-less sequence shot by hidden camera in the toughest black market section of the city. (The post-production dubbing, with twelve of the latest pop songs layered in, was so difficult that Kurosawa’s soundman was reduced to tears.) No bleeding hearts here: when seasoned mentor Takashi Shimura points out that the killer, a returned vet, went bad when all his possessions were stolen, Mifune heatedly replies that the same thing happened to him — and then he became a cop. No surprise then that, as the chase progresses toward a final confrontation — electrifyingly backgrounded by a young girl’s stop-start practicing of a Mozart piece — Mifune and the unseen killer begin to seem more and more alike. A confessed admirer of Georges Simenon, Kurosawa adapted his own unpublished novel for this, his first detective film (the second is High and Low: see Jan. 22) and the real beginning of the genre in Japan. Approx. 122 minutes.

Let me know. Later all.