if it seems too good to be true: some films i've seen lately

Aside from The Sun Is Also A Star - which you should see - the best films listed below are the French ones (which S. and I watched in order to re-acclimatise to le French-speaking prior to a Parisian weekend break), particularly Lolo written by and starring by Julie Delpy. We did take one photo of a Lolo-style photo of "a view of the Eiffel Tower" from Montparnasse - i.e., barely a view of the Eiffel Tower - as well more conventionally touristic views of landmarks; we also photographed almost every artwork on the fifth floor of the Pompidou Centre (ways of seeing?) and visited Le Caveau de la Huchette jazz club. Nice!

Frankenstein Created Woman (1967, dir. Terence Fisher, starring Peter Cushing, Susan Denberg) - If it seems too good to be true, it probably is; don't go for a picnic in woodland with sexy Susan Denberg if you've a bad conscience.

(Trigger warnings: gender essentialism, outdated attitudes to disability, a trio of 'young blades' who resemble the Bullingdon Club and smash up restaurants in Old Tory style).

Harry, He’s Here To Help / With A Friend Like Harry / Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien (2000, dir. Dominik Moll, starring Stephane Freiss, Anouk Grinberg, Agathe Dronne) –  Pleasingly amoral allegory: everyman character kills & (symbolically) eats/ incorporates murderous friend/antagonist/ shadow, unlocks own creativity, becomes own father (see: existentialism), wins spousal respect, acquires air-conditioned 4x4.  

The Village (2004, dir. M Night Shyamalan, starring Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Joaquin Phoenix) – This looks and feels a lot like his previous, ‘Signs’; loses by the comparison, though; feels underpowered; the ending (unfelt, unresolved) feels like a shrug, a retreat. 

Albert Camus (2010, dir. Laurent Jaoui, starring Stephane Freiss, Anouk Grinberg, Agathe Dronne) – Down these mean Algerian streets, a man must philosophise; then that wise-guy Sartre shows up, spills his guts about ‘Les Temps Modernes’ and some dame called Simone. 

The Woman In Black (2012, dir. James Watkins, screenplay by Jane Goldman from novel by Susan Hill; starring Daniel Radcliffe) – Couldn’t care sufficiently about glum, bereaved (insufficiently versatile) Daniel Radcliffe as protagonist; repeated shots of Victorian bric-a-brac (clockwork toys etc) felt de trop. Liked car/ quicksand business. 

Lolo (2015, dir. Julie Delpy, starring Julie Delpy, Dany Boon, Vincent Lacoste) – French writers are often wittier, more stylish about the sexual/ romantic marketplace (plus Oedipal and other family romances) than British/ American ones. Just observation, or cultural cringe? 

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018, dir. Susan Johnson, starring  Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janiel Parrish) - Y.A. romcom in which young lady’s letters designed not to be sent are sent, accidentally on purpose. A transparent plot-device; life, like art, is full of them. 

Wine Country (2019, dir. Amy Poehler, starring Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer) - Forty- and fifty-something friends celebrate a significant birthday in this ensemble drama which comfortably passes the Bechdel test and contains hints of joy, tenderness, regret, millennial-baiting. 

The Sun Is Also A Star (2019, dir. Ry Russo-Young, screenplay by Tracy Oliver from novel by Nicola Yoon; starring Yara Shahidi, Anais Lee, Charles Melton) – This witty, beautifully photographed romcom showcases NY as third character (and, incidentally, educated me about the Korean-American stake in U.S. black hair care). Self, daughter, mum enjoyed.

 

twenty-seven word reviews of films seen during august, september and october

The Raven (1935, dir. Louis Friedlander, aka Lew Landers, starring Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff) - If your consultant’s other specialisms include DIY and “the torture and murder devices of Edgar Allan Poe”, exercise patient choice. Do not attend said doctor’s house party.

Airplane! (1980, dir. David & Jerry Zucker, Jim Abraham, starring Robert Hays, Julie Hegarty, Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges) - No other PG-rated film (*really*, BBFC?) gets so many laughs from sex, abortion, glue-sniffing... Daughter commented, “seriously?” at one sexist gag; otherwise loved, esp. ‘shit hits fan’.

Blade Runner (1982, dir. Ridley Scott, starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Daryl Hannah, Sean Young) - “A hundred baby spiders…”; hard to imagine cyberpunk or postmodernity without the eggs, eyes, mothers, Cartesian doubt and memory movie that almost made William Gibson quit pre-Neuromancer.

Forrest Gump (1994, dir. Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks) - There’s an American route to success through single-mindedness, grit, family values, luck and being mildly learning-disabled. And that’s just about all I’ve got to say about that.

Tank Girl (1995, dir. Rachel Talalay, starring Lori Petty, Naomi Watts, Ice-T, Malcolm McDowell) -  Dystopia-causing cometary impact =off-the-shelf; grunge-era stylings =carefully hand-stitched in this film of the comic book. Vivienne Westwood costumes; Courtney Love-Cobain curates 1995 time-capsule soundtrack: Bjork, Ice-T, Hole, L7. 

Red Road (2006, dir. Andrea Arnold, starring Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, Natalie Press) - Involving, edgy: CCTV operator, Glasgow, sees someone from her past on camera, becomes involved. Viewer as detective: what happened? Not what you first thought. Ending: redemptive (just). 

Happy Go Lucky. (2008, dir. Mike Leigh, starring Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan) - Abigail’s Party, High Hopes? Priceless. This? Liked swerve from expected rom-com narrative (he’s not just grumpy, he’s….); disliked annoying MPDG-ish protagonist, woefully under-researched social work portrayal. Pity.    

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009, dir. Chris Weitz, writer: Melissa Rosenberg, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner) - Build-up: dream sequences, great soundtrack, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as intertext, relatable sixthform problems. The undead, yeah? Can’t live with ‘em…  Denouement: ambiguous at plot junction. (Just me?).

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010, dir. David Slade, writer: Melissa Rosenberg, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner) - Vampires 90% white, favour Scandi-style interiors; werewolves forest-dwelling Native Americans bikers. (No - really?). Something here for Freudians, Jungians, gestaltists, admirers of the well-developed male chest. Great trilogy.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part I (2011, dir. Bill Condon, writer: Melissa Rosenberg, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner) - Jacob rips shirt off thirty seconds in – female-gaze in-joke, surely? (Never wear best stuff if werewolf). Uncomfortable watch (for this male): inward struggle referencing pregnancy, also (?)anorexia.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part II (2012, dir. Bill Condon, writer: Melissa Rosenberg, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner : Interesting finale. Final battle only imagined = M.A.D. for telepaths and vampires. Have seen Twilight sequence on ‘worst movie of all time list’ - so not fair.

Best of Enemies (2015, dir. Robert Gordon & Morgan Neville, 'starring' Gore Vidal, William F. Buckley Jr) - Fascinating portrayal of American civil strife, world disorder during 1960s through lens of famously rancorous set-piece TV debates between two public intellectuals. Something feline about both men.

Had intended to see new Blade Runner movie last weekend; didn't; long story.