No Me Defiendas Compadre (Gilberto Martinez Solares; 1949)

Germán Valdés, most commonly known as Tin Tan in Mexico, is a beloved comedian in his country and one of the finest comic actors in the world. This wonderful 1949 film follows him in the character of a man in prison, who plays as a pitcher for the prison team. He's gonna win the championship with the team but he's set free before the last match (much to his dismay). He then goes to the man who put him in jail and then got him out, to tell him that they are no longer friends (or the more common mexican word "compadres"). He's then desperate to find a job, so he asks young Beatriz, a girl who's been helping his aunt, to get him a job. Various situations in different work environments (including waiter, detective, professional wrestler) ensue, which makes way for excellent slapstick comedy and perfect gags.

What makes Tin Tan such an excellent actor is the way he uses his body, his voice, everything in his comedy. He was a master of acting (not just comedy either). He had a reaction for EVERYTHING. If something happens, even if it's not on the script, he watches, reacts and builds on it. That's what's so amazing about Tin Tan. They'd give him the script, give the other actor the line he'd use as a cue and they'd set Tin Tan free for improvisation. His pace is always quick as lightning, he never slows down, it's all part of the character.

As many of the other comedies of the first 50 years of cinema, No Me Defiendas Compadre, is spiced up with a great social commentary. In this case, focusing on the prison system and government of 1940's Mexico.
A great comedy (the restaurant and wrestling scenes will have you floored) and a true testament to Tin Tan's undying genius (if I haven't convinced you yet, you should know Chaplin was a fan). Highly recommended for an incredibly good time!

90/100

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (Peter Greenaway; 1989)

Try the cock, Albert. It's a delicacy.

Peter Greenaway's delicious 1989 black comedy, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, is a delightfully fucked up account of a rude, obscene, vulgar and loud restaurant owner/gangster of sorts, his cheating wife, her book reading lover (who, much like Harry Dean Stanton in Paris, Texas, is silent for the first half an hour of the film), and the french cook of the restaurant tangled in between.

The film starts off with a man being humilliated by Albert (Michael Gambon) and his thugs, which include Tim Roth in a brilliant, but short supporting role. They proceed to enter to the restaurant where we find a loud mess of a place, with two divided worlds, the kitchen and the main restaurant. As the characters move between the restaurant, kitchen and bathroom, the first thing I noticed is how amazingly lighting is used, and overall color. Each character's costumes (designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier) change in color as they change room. We also see a different color palette in each room, noticing especially a decadent green in the kitchen, a strong red in the loud restaurant and a fresh white in the bathroom. Likening the color and lightning of each room to the actions taking place therein is exceptionally easy, and that's one of the film's strengths.

The performances are delightfully funny, especially Michael Gambon's screaming pig, Albert. It's hard to believe that he's gone on to be in Harry Potter movies. Helen Mirren also turns in a top notch performance as the estranged wife bored with her husband. The whole cast fits perfectly, exuding an aura of twisted elegance (a word I cannot help but use continually when describing this film). The music is outstanding with a delightfully elegant tone that contrasts very nicely with the actions depicted. In fact, much of the film's power resides in its score, in my opinion.

Greenaway's direction is perfect, with an incredibly good use of panning shots. His writing is also very funny, satirical and sharp. An overall excellent film that even though can become disturbing at times, is a delight to watch. Elegant, rude, witty, vulgar, twisted, and hilarious.

100/100

Babel (Alejandro Gonzales Iñarritu; 2006)

I went in expecting another cinematic masterpiece from Iñárritu, perhaps one of the maybe 10 good Mexican directors working nowadays. I was expecting a film so emotionally challenging and deep that would make 21 Grams and Amores Perros look like The Teletubbies.

The theater went dark and the film rolled.

Babel tells multiple stories, a trademark in Iñárritu's films, in this case four of them, that interconnect in one single incident in the Moroccan desert.

An american couple vacationing in Morocco, two brothers trying out the Winchester rifle their dad gave them, an illegal Mexican immigrant dealing with the American couple's children, a Japanese man and his alienated deaf daughter, all connected by a single bullet.

Gonzáles Iñárritu's direction is magnificent, even with a much larger scope than his last two films. He manages to go from story to story almost seamlessly.

The photography by Rodrigo Prieto is just beautiful, and he proves he is one of the best mexican cinematographers around.

I had a problem with the writing. I feel Arriaga didn't do a job as amazing as Amores Perros, 21 Grams or The Three Burials... The film tangled itself up with the complexity of the stories, and it dragged at times, IMO.The Japanese girl's story felt very irrelevant to the story and I thought it was completely unnecessary.

Also, I really had a problem with the way Gonzáles Iñárritu, a mexican, portrayed Mexico. We see Tijuana as a decadent town, full of prostitutes, bars, and unlimited desert. It may be like that, but there's also a nice side of the city. I don't know, I guess it was necessary for the story and whatnot, but it bothers me.

The performances all were excellent for the most part, the highlight being the Mexican nanny.

I was left very underwhelmed by the end of the film, with an ending that seemed rushed, left many things incomplete and just left me cold. I don't know if this is the point of the story, or what.Overall, Babel is a good film, technically speaking, it has a lot of merits, but that's where it stops. A good film. It left me with nothing and it was quite empty. Either way, it's a must watch for any fan of Gonzáles Iñárritu's other work.

80/100

Volver (Pedro Almodóvar; 2006)

Classy is the first word that comes to my mind when I think about Volver. It tells the story of Raymunda and Soledad, two sisters who get tangled up in an intricate story filled with suspense and twists and turns. Raymunda (played by the incredibly, astoundingly gorgeous Penélope Cruz) is a woman living with her daughter and her alcoholic husband. After a tragic accident occurs, she and her daughter must find a way to cover it all up. Sole (Lola Dueñas) on the other hand, has been left by her husband, and runs an illegal barbershop. After their aunt Paula (a short-appearing but delightful character, based on Almodóvars own mother), dies, Raymunda and Sole's mum (played magnificently by Carmen Maura) returns from the grave to give them a message. I won't spoil the film, but I can safely say it's one of the best films to come out so far this year. The whole cast is impeccable, and with Penélope Cruz on the screen 80% of the time, you can't go wrong. Almodóvar's direction is brilliant, evoking so much stuff in the film. At times you feel like crying and laughing at the same time. The way he handles the human nature is remarkable. The whole mix of feelings, tragedy, comedy, romance. It all fits perfectly. The score is amazing, giving the film a very nice feel, as well as an enduring one of suspense.

Not Almodóvar's best, but I hear it's his most personal, set in the region he grew up, with characters based on a variety of people from his own life, etc. It's always nice to see a director make a film for himself, and enjoying it. You can tell that Almodóvar loved doing this film.

Last but not least, the humour is great, and it really comes as a nice added feature. I've always liked Almodóvar's comedies, like Kika or Mujeres al Borde De Un Ataque de Nervios, so I really liked this one. Hitchcock fans should also enjoy this one! You won't get what you want if you're expecting another Hable Con Ella or Mala Educación but you will be pleasantly surprised by how funny, charming, humane, sexy and enjoyable this film is.

90/100

I Shot Andy Warhol (Mary Harron; 1996)

As a Warhol fan, and a pop art in general fan, I had been wanting to see this film for a long time. Mary Harron's film on Valerie Solana's story, the butch dyke who wrote a man hating manifesto, ascended to Warhol superstar status and then shot him, was originally intended to be a doc. So naturally, she knew her stuff.
The main problem I had with this film was the way it was shot. I thought it was way too conventional for a film about the Factory scene. Not only that.. It was way too predictable. It felt like it was trying to imitate the Warhol style, or something. The performances were, for the most part, pretty good, though. Lily Taylor is excellent, and you really get the feel that if you were to encounter her in the street she'd beat you up. Remember that scene in Chasing Amy where Banky draws a man hating bull dyke? Lily Taylor in this film. Stephen Dorff also turns in an awesome portrayal of Warhol superstar/drag queen Candy Darling. Jared Harris was alright as Warhol, but I just couldn't get into him. Give me Bowie in Basquiat any day. The Factory scenes were great, and the ambient and feel of it is what I would've imagined the place like. I was particularly psyched to see one of my favorite bands, Yo La Tengo, portraying another favorite of mine, The Velvet Underground.
Even though it's very flawed, I Shot Andy Warhol is worth a look, if only for the cultural references, and a must for anyone interested in the Warhol universe




70/100

The Squid and The Whale (Noah Baumbach; 2005)

Finally saw this film, which I had been interested in in a long time.
I had really mixed feelings about it while watching it. The film tells the story of a family (I hear it's supposed to be based on Baumbach's own life), consisting of the dad, Bernard, a has-been writer, the mom, Joan, a newly-published writer, and their two sons, Walt and Frank. Bernard is an egocentric, pretentious man, and Joan starts having affairs, which results in a separation, topped off with joint custody.
A thing I immediately noticed, is that the film is way more disturbing and darker than I ever would have expected it to be. Some scenes are just painful to watch, but some are spiced with a sharp sense of humour that comes as a nice breath of fresh air.
Jeff Daniels' performance is quite good as this man who watches art films, reads all kinds of books, appreciates music, etc. His taste in the film is not bad, but he looks down on people who don't like films like he does (what we call a SNOB) and calls them phillistines. He really does very well, though, and one forgets he was once in Dumb and Dumber.
The thing that mainly bothered me about it is it's pretentiousness. The dialogues were very unrealistic for the most part (at least I got that feel), and all the film references felt completely out of place. I don't know what it is, but I've never liked film references in films. I thought the Breathless reference near the end was very unnecesary.
What Baumbach really nails in this film, is how some people are just out to impress. We see this in Walt, who's constantly passing his father's opinions as his own, trying to recommend good books and films he hasn't even read or watched and coining terms he heard from his father (what we call a Tyler).
The music was really great, though, and it was very fitting for the most part.
I was perfectly prepared to give this a 3/5, but the ending just came out of nowhere (could be because the film is very short, at 1:16) and blew me away.
After this and Life Aquatic, it's safe to say I'm up for anything by Baumbach.

3.75/5

I Fidanzati (Ermanno Olmi; 1963)

I Fidanzati (and it's sister film, Il Posto), were two films from the Criterion Collection I had been interested in for a long time. One rainy afternoon, I decided it was time to order them.
When they arrived, I proceded to watch Il Posto, which is a great film in it's own right, and then popped I Fidanzati in. As the minutes passed, and I saw this subtly romantic film unfold, I knew I was watching a masterpiece.
Olmi is not generally a name you hear mentioned much, and he is most of the time overshadowed by other italian directors. I had never heard of him prior to learning about the Criterion Collection. But, after I Fidanzati, you wont be able to understand why Ermanno Olmi is so criminally underrated.
The film tells the story of Giovanni, brilliantly played by Carlo Cabrini, an italian engine worker, who has a relationship with Liliana (Anna Canzi). One day, Giovanni is transferred to Sicily, and his and Liliana's relationship is deeply hurt.
As he arrives in Sicily, he encounters a world into which he'll never be able to adapt. Be it sitting for innumerable hours in his small hotel room, meditating about his relationship with Liliana, or working under the boiling sun in the industrial messes of Sicily, he feels like an outsider.
But as the film continues, he starts to write to Liliana, and as they begin to rekindle their relationship, Olmi uses a very interesting device. He flashes forward to show us what could be in store for Giovanni and Liliana, and he ends it up with one of the most bleakly uplifting endings I've ever seen.

Olmi's watchful eye, has no limitations. As the interview on the disc reveals, Olmi is a strong believer of the "film as another way to see reality, not escape it" philosophy. And hell, does he capture the escence of it. The couple's longing for each other, and Giovanni's desperation with an alien society is not skipped for the sake of entertainment. Olmi does not use devices such as metaphors, to convey the character's feelings, instead letting actions, images, music and expressions do all the work.
The cinematography just enhances the film's power, it's crisp but precise, and it greatly helps the film. The editing is also amazing. The editor gives the film a very complex timeline, and a modern feel that can be appreciated by any generation.
I Fidanzati is a film that needs to be watched, and Olmi is a director that truly deserves to be noticed, because, to me, he ranks alongside Antonioni and Fellini as masters of italian cinema.

One of the most romantic films ever made, and a gem for generations to come.



100/100

Play it Again, Sam by Woody Allen

Yeah, I know, it's a Herbert Ross film. But Play it Again, Sam is in essence a Woody Allen film. It's based on Allen's play of the same name and it's in every sense of the definition a Woody Allen film. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Woody had almost absolute control in this.
Play it Again, Sam tells the story of Allan Felix, a middle aged neurotic and anxious man(duh, it's Allen), who after being left by his wife, starts to have a crisis, and struggles to find another woman. Allan wishes he were like Humphrey Bogart, and this leads him to hallucinate Bogey giving him advice on how to get a woman. Allan's friends Dick and Linda decide to help him find another girl. But, as Allan and Linda spend more time with each other they start to fall in love.
Now, this is really a typical structure in Allen films, and the film isn't missing it's typical one-liners and nervous rants. Allen just takes on the character (like he does in any other movie) and inhabits it. Of course, I don't suspect it would be too hard, cause Allen seems to be that kind of person in real life.
The film starts out with the final scene of Casablanca, which is wonderfully "mimicked" at the end of the film. As Allen leaves the theater he says, "Who am I kidding? I'm not Bogart. I never was and I never will be."
The film has a lot of brilliant moments which make you laugh out loud, and Allen's great sense of humor is forever present in this. Keaton is also marvelous in this and so is Tony Roberts, one of Allen's regulars. So, see, this may be directed by someone else, but it has the look, feel, structure, and all the elements in an Allen film. So, I'm sorry Mr. Ross, but you'll never get credit for this.

100/100

A Woman is a Woman by Jean-Luc Godard

It's 1961, it's Paris, your name is Jean-Paul Belmondo and you have a cigarrete in your mouth. Isn't life good?
Godard's Une Femme est une Femme, is a delightful and playful homage to the american musical. It tells the story of Angela and Emile, a couple who love each other very much but can't really show it. Angela wants a baby, but when Emile refuses, she goes to his best friend. I think it's one of Godard's most playful films. He shows with this how you can play with cinema. This film is full of little things and gags that make it a very delightful experience. Various scenes that show little pleasures of life or little fun things. It stars three of the french new wave's most representative actors: Jean Cl. Brialy, Jean-Paul Belmondo and the always lovely Anna Karina.
As in other Godards I've seen, there are various scenes in this that really put a smile on my face. The opening credits are innovative and fun, and the musical numbers are great to watch too. Then, there are little fun scenes, like the scene where a man approaches Belmondo, to tell him about an unpaid bill at the Hotel Bikini. Belmondo tells him that it is not possible, seeing that he writes everything he does down. He proceeds to pull his little book out and browse through it. "Oh yeah here it is, left Hotel Bikini without paying." The man asks him if he'll pay up and Belmondo says, "no, never." Then, as they leave, they bombard each other with insults. Little scenes like this make this a film a very fun and delicious film to watch.. I wish I were french. In the 60's. Hangin' out with Godard... I wish..
I don't know if it's a comedy or a tragedy, but it's a masterpiece.

100/100

Memento by Christopher Nolan

So, Memento begins with a sequence filmed backwards of a Polaroid fading, not developing. It's a picture taken by Leonard (Guy Pierce) of the man he just killed to get revenge of his dead wife. Leonard suffers from short term memory loss, and to remember things he scribbles notes to himself. Now, one of the things that stand out in this film, is the way the story is told. It's told literally backwards. We see scenes or "episodes" of things, interlaced with Leonard talking on the phone with someone, explaining the story of Sammy Jankis, and then we're taken back to an earlier scene to explain what happened in the last one, if it makes sense. But, as Roger Ebert once said: "Nolan's device of telling his story backward, or sort of backward, is simply that--a device. It does not reflect the way Leonard thinks. He still operates in chronological time, and does not know he is in a time-reversed movie." That is absolutely true. The film just feels like it used such a gimmick to appear "cutting-edge" or whatever. It feels like it chose to use this narrative line just to have some kind of a novelty factor. That's my main problem with the film.
Apart from that, the film is graced by solid performances by Pierce, Moss and the always lovable (or hateable) Joe Pantoliano. The cinematography is pretty good, and Nolan's direction is great. I really like his style.
One thing that I liked, was the way this film didn't seek to find a resolution, or to give us answers, it just gives us what happened and leaves the desition up to us. Or maybe we don't have to decide or figure it out. Maybe it's just entertainment and we don't have to think too much. I really can't remember.
Anyway, a solid character study and a very entertaining movie, Memento is pretty good for what it is..

70/100

Keane by Lodge Kerrigan

My name is William Keane. Keane. K-E-A-N-E.
Lodge Kerrigan's film starts out with thirty-something man William Keane at a bus station. He's asking around for his abducter daughter. As he shows a newspaper clipping of her to people, they walk away. The movie goes on, and we follow him as he goes on alcohol and drug driven night rampages. He becomes obsessed with finding his daughter, and catching the man who took her. But as the film unwraps, we start to wonder, along with him, if he even has a daughter.
The character of William Keane, unlike many films, is a man on the verge of sanity. He has moments of clarity, and he has moments of madness and confusion. There are scenes where he constantly talks to himself, and scenes where he's any normal guy.
But then, he meets a woman and her 7 year old daughter Kira and befriends them. The woman asks him to look after her one afternoon and William and Kira go out and do various things. But suddenly, Keane starts to lose it again after realizing the responsibility he has with the girl. Or maybe he's just reminded of his own daughter. What follows is deeply impacting and it leaves the viewer really thinking.
This film is poignant, and true. Damian Lewis delivers an amazing performance and he's very convincing in his role. The cinematography is dark most of the time and very cold, and it's really fitting to the subject matter. Kerrigan is a great director, and his style is admirable. He shows the man with fierce sympathy and doesn't come off too heavy.
Films like these are the films that are saving current american cinema. Even if it's on the verge of dying.

90/100