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msconductAnother year, another twenty-seven films. (Actually, there were a few more than that, but I didn't get to see them. Must Try Harder.) Cut for length, rather than for lurid personal disclosure.
Grizzly Man
This Werner Herzog doco created a buzz at Sundance, and no wonder. A fascinating psychological study of a man who persisted in thinking of bears as adorable humans in fur suits and died for it. How have I managed never to see anything by Herzog before?
They Live By Night
The first in a bunch of Nicholas Ray films, this was his first feature. Often considered noir, but isn't. Considering how many people die in it, it's still a bit too heartwarming.
Touch The Sound
A doco about deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie. Interesting, but ever so slightly too poncy.
Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence
Wow. Beautiful and way deep, man. Now I have to find the first one.
Animation For Kids
Always brilliant, and this year was no exception. The standout was the local Batfly, made by Wellington animators, but there wasn't a dud in it.
Murderball
Doco about wheelchair rugby and an ever-timely reminder that if you're an arse, beoming paralysed doesn't make you a saint, just a paralysed arse.
Mad Hot Ballroom
Doco about the ballroom dancing programme in New York's poorer schools. Inspiring without being sickly, and a fascinating demonstration of what a halo effect one factor can have on an entire life.
The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalyse
Bleagh. They took some great characters and totally ruined them. There's even a happy ending. Redeemed only by the historical sections with different characters altogether, starring the brilliant David Warner as Dr Pea. They should have stuck with the new stuff. There's always one crummy film, and this was it.
East Of Eden
I've never managed to see James Dean, but this Festival put that right. A very well done adaptation of the Steinbeck novel that made the most of Mr Dean's (to me) elusive charms.
Appleseed
Pretty but vacuous. I enjoyed it, but![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
isaacfreeman thought it was rubbish, and since he's more discriminating than me, You Have Been Warned. Worth it if only to hear Japanese speakers repeatedly saying "Bioroid".
The Future Of Food
This was fantastic: a brilliantly incisive documentary that comprehensively explains why GE food is a bad idea and why Monsanto are the scum-sucking spawn of Satan. The kind of film that makes you want to press a copy onto everyone you know, and fortunately many people are doing just that. Bravo.
Inside Deep Throat
Interesting not so much for what you learn about the film itself, but more for the overall picture of the Seventies it lays out. It's jolting to realise quite how conservative some things have become since then.
On Dangerous Ground
Another Nick Ray, this time an oddly disjointed film about a cynical cop being redeemed by the pure love of a saintly blind woman. (See Murderball above.) Frequently unintentionally hilarious, alas. I particularly liked the idea that a blind woman would hang a hanging basket at head level in a doorway.
Monster Road
A fascinating doco about oddball claymation animator Bruce Bickford. Without being too heavy-handed about it, filmmaker Brett Ingram manages to get to the heart of the guy in a way I've rarely seen. He's one to watch.
Yuri Norstein Retrospective
All the work that exists - only eighty or so minutes - from the reclusive Russian animator. Soaked in a peculiarly Russian melancholy and completely beautiful. Especially the hedgehog in the fog.
Rebel Without A Cause
Good to get an opportunity to see this on the big screen. Crammed with pop psychology, which was just coming into vogue at the time, and as a result it hasn't worn too well. James Dean exactly repeats his tough-but-vulnerable schtick from East Of Eden, making me wonder if his career would have just fizzled out if he hadn't died so glamorously young.
A Decent Factory
Nokia's trip to China to see if their suppliers are observing labour regulations. And were they? What do you think? Mildly interesting, but utterly predictable.
Howl's Moving Castle
I loved this, but I suspect I wouldn't have been as happy if I'd read the book. But then, that's always the case. Thoroughly recommended.
Bitter Victory
Nick Ray's extremely bleak war film. Astonishingly modern in its use of images, and satisfyingly non-heartwarming.
Channel Swimmers
It takes a minimum of sevenish hours to swim the Channel. Some people take more than 22. Nutters. An absorbing glimpse into their lives.
Steamboy
Well worth seeing for the sheer beauty of the backgrounds and the endless lovingly detailed machinery, but disappointingly high on inexplicable character motivation, explosions and things falling apart. On the other hand, we get to see Queen Victoria opening the Great Exhibition in Japanese.
Animation Now!
Ick, that exclamation mark. But we seem to be stuck with it. As usual, animation now! is in pretty good shape - some terrific stuff here, with the standout being Bill Plympton's hilarious "Guard Dog".
Party Girl
Nicholas Ray again, with a noir mob story. Could Cyd Charisse actually be a worse actor than Hayden Christensen?
Protocols Of Zion
A brilliant examination of the rise in anti-Semitism since the World Trade Center bombings. Did you know no Jews were killed on 9/11 because they were all warned in advance? Idiots. How can anyone believe this stuff? I came out despising human nature even more than I usually do.
Bigger Than Life
Nick Ray's depiction of a mild-mannered teacher who becomes a homicidal maniac after being treated with cortisone. A bit melodramatic, but hypnotically alluring for all that. And it made me want to be a 50's housewife in high heels and a swirly skirt.
The White Diamond
Another Werner Herzog doco, this one about a man obsessed with airships. His description of the death of filmmaker Dieter Plage in an airship accident in 1992 is going to stay with me forever. Horrific is too mild a word for it.
Battleship Potemkin
I'd seen the Odessa Steps sequence on TV, but to get to see the whole thing, on the big screen, with live orchestral accompaniment by the Auckland Phil, conducted by the guy who restored the score? How lucky can you get? I expected it to be good, but it was sensational. Eighty years old and it still surpasses any other film I've ever seen in its visual impact. Every frame is a masterpiece of composition: it's modern art at twenty-four frames a second. It was a privilege to be there.
Grizzly Man
This Werner Herzog doco created a buzz at Sundance, and no wonder. A fascinating psychological study of a man who persisted in thinking of bears as adorable humans in fur suits and died for it. How have I managed never to see anything by Herzog before?
They Live By Night
The first in a bunch of Nicholas Ray films, this was his first feature. Often considered noir, but isn't. Considering how many people die in it, it's still a bit too heartwarming.
Touch The Sound
A doco about deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie. Interesting, but ever so slightly too poncy.
Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence
Wow. Beautiful and way deep, man. Now I have to find the first one.
Animation For Kids
Always brilliant, and this year was no exception. The standout was the local Batfly, made by Wellington animators, but there wasn't a dud in it.
Murderball
Doco about wheelchair rugby and an ever-timely reminder that if you're an arse, beoming paralysed doesn't make you a saint, just a paralysed arse.
Mad Hot Ballroom
Doco about the ballroom dancing programme in New York's poorer schools. Inspiring without being sickly, and a fascinating demonstration of what a halo effect one factor can have on an entire life.
The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalyse
Bleagh. They took some great characters and totally ruined them. There's even a happy ending. Redeemed only by the historical sections with different characters altogether, starring the brilliant David Warner as Dr Pea. They should have stuck with the new stuff. There's always one crummy film, and this was it.
East Of Eden
I've never managed to see James Dean, but this Festival put that right. A very well done adaptation of the Steinbeck novel that made the most of Mr Dean's (to me) elusive charms.
Appleseed
Pretty but vacuous. I enjoyed it, but
isaacfreeman thought it was rubbish, and since he's more discriminating than me, You Have Been Warned. Worth it if only to hear Japanese speakers repeatedly saying "Bioroid".The Future Of Food
This was fantastic: a brilliantly incisive documentary that comprehensively explains why GE food is a bad idea and why Monsanto are the scum-sucking spawn of Satan. The kind of film that makes you want to press a copy onto everyone you know, and fortunately many people are doing just that. Bravo.
Inside Deep Throat
Interesting not so much for what you learn about the film itself, but more for the overall picture of the Seventies it lays out. It's jolting to realise quite how conservative some things have become since then.
On Dangerous Ground
Another Nick Ray, this time an oddly disjointed film about a cynical cop being redeemed by the pure love of a saintly blind woman. (See Murderball above.) Frequently unintentionally hilarious, alas. I particularly liked the idea that a blind woman would hang a hanging basket at head level in a doorway.
Monster Road
A fascinating doco about oddball claymation animator Bruce Bickford. Without being too heavy-handed about it, filmmaker Brett Ingram manages to get to the heart of the guy in a way I've rarely seen. He's one to watch.
Yuri Norstein Retrospective
All the work that exists - only eighty or so minutes - from the reclusive Russian animator. Soaked in a peculiarly Russian melancholy and completely beautiful. Especially the hedgehog in the fog.
Rebel Without A Cause
Good to get an opportunity to see this on the big screen. Crammed with pop psychology, which was just coming into vogue at the time, and as a result it hasn't worn too well. James Dean exactly repeats his tough-but-vulnerable schtick from East Of Eden, making me wonder if his career would have just fizzled out if he hadn't died so glamorously young.
A Decent Factory
Nokia's trip to China to see if their suppliers are observing labour regulations. And were they? What do you think? Mildly interesting, but utterly predictable.
Howl's Moving Castle
I loved this, but I suspect I wouldn't have been as happy if I'd read the book. But then, that's always the case. Thoroughly recommended.
Bitter Victory
Nick Ray's extremely bleak war film. Astonishingly modern in its use of images, and satisfyingly non-heartwarming.
Channel Swimmers
It takes a minimum of sevenish hours to swim the Channel. Some people take more than 22. Nutters. An absorbing glimpse into their lives.
Steamboy
Well worth seeing for the sheer beauty of the backgrounds and the endless lovingly detailed machinery, but disappointingly high on inexplicable character motivation, explosions and things falling apart. On the other hand, we get to see Queen Victoria opening the Great Exhibition in Japanese.
Animation Now!
Ick, that exclamation mark. But we seem to be stuck with it. As usual, animation now! is in pretty good shape - some terrific stuff here, with the standout being Bill Plympton's hilarious "Guard Dog".
Party Girl
Nicholas Ray again, with a noir mob story. Could Cyd Charisse actually be a worse actor than Hayden Christensen?
Protocols Of Zion
A brilliant examination of the rise in anti-Semitism since the World Trade Center bombings. Did you know no Jews were killed on 9/11 because they were all warned in advance? Idiots. How can anyone believe this stuff? I came out despising human nature even more than I usually do.
Bigger Than Life
Nick Ray's depiction of a mild-mannered teacher who becomes a homicidal maniac after being treated with cortisone. A bit melodramatic, but hypnotically alluring for all that. And it made me want to be a 50's housewife in high heels and a swirly skirt.
The White Diamond
Another Werner Herzog doco, this one about a man obsessed with airships. His description of the death of filmmaker Dieter Plage in an airship accident in 1992 is going to stay with me forever. Horrific is too mild a word for it.
Battleship Potemkin
I'd seen the Odessa Steps sequence on TV, but to get to see the whole thing, on the big screen, with live orchestral accompaniment by the Auckland Phil, conducted by the guy who restored the score? How lucky can you get? I expected it to be good, but it was sensational. Eighty years old and it still surpasses any other film I've ever seen in its visual impact. Every frame is a masterpiece of composition: it's modern art at twenty-four frames a second. It was a privilege to be there.
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no subject
Date: 2005-07-30 05:41 am (UTC)James Dean is a real puzzle. He definitely "acted" quite differently from anyone else in the films of his that I've see (RWOAC.. and Giant), and he was good, but they don't live up to hype that surrounds him.
If he'd lived? James Dean as No 1 in Austin Powers?
no subject
Date: 2005-07-31 02:21 am (UTC)Bummer! I heard that a lot of the films weren't going to make it to Chch because they were going to the Melbourne Festival instead (how unfair!) but I assumed that would be the new hot stuff, not classic films. No doubt they're all available on DVD, but there's nothing like the big screen.
James Dean is a real puzzle. He definitely "acted" quite differently from anyone else in the films of his that I've see (RWOAC.. and Giant), and he was good, but they don't live up to hype that surrounds him.
He's certainly got a very striking stage presence, but I suspect that it's because he was essentially playing himself. I know he was cast in East Of Eden because the mother abandonment thing was an echo of his own life - neither Elia Kazan nor John Steinbeck liked him, but they knew he was right for the part. And that vulnerable tough guy thing is exactly the same in Rebel. I'd like to see Giant though to complete the set.