Cold Weather

Other than the films reviewed last week, which you still may have a chance to see, Netflix is also getting rid of the Portland, OR set "Cold Weather," written and directed by Aaron Katz in 2010. Portlanders will not want to miss this, if only to recognize some of the settings. Unfortunately you'll only have until tomorrow to check it out on Netflix Instant. The film is a detective dramedy. The story focuses on Doug, who has recently moved in with his sister, Gail, in Portland. Before moving to Portland, Doug was a forensic science student in Chicago, where he lived with his now-ex-girlfriend, Rachel. In Portland, Doug gets a job in an ice factory and befriends Carlos, who DJs on the side. Rachel arrives in Portland to train at the home office of the law firm she works for in Chicago. She suddenly disappears. Doug, Gail, and Carlos investigate. It's a very low-key indie movie that gets everything pretty much right. It requires some patience (the set-up of anything resembling a plot, for example, takes 40+ minutes and the film is only 90 minutes), but is overall rewarding in the end. The main actor, Cris Lankenau is not a very demanding on-screen presence. Still, he is able to create a likeable, smart character who becomes most interesting when he pops into Sherlock Holmes mode. The other actors are really good in their own subtle ways as well. The actor playing Carlos adds some light, playful moments to the film. The actress playing Gail is not in it very much, but when she is, she really nails the brother-sister chemistry. The actress playing Rachel is charming, funny, and generally likeable as well. The film was shot with the awesome Red One camera (think David Fincher's "Social Network") by Andrew Reed. Reed manages to capture the beauty of rainy, run-down Portland in a way someone nostalgic of the PNW can appreciate. Keegan DeWitt's minimal score is perfect for this kind of minimalist movie. Katz may be the next big mumblecore director (in my opinion, the movement could use a bit of a fresh voice; can we be done with the Duplass brothers please?!). With "Cold Weather" he's shown an acute ability to bring style and genre elements together in order to bring something original and absorbing to audiences. And though patience is a virtue when watching the film, patience with regard to starting it is not. Hurry up! Turn on the boob tube before it's too late!

Chinatown, Broadway Danny Rose, Ghost Dog, and Swimming with Sharks

Alas, Netflix is getting rid of four fantastic films from its streaming content next week. First up is Roman Polanski's 1974 enigma, post-noir "Chinatown," starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston. I'll admit that it took at least a few viewings for me to fully appreciate the story of this classic. But even if you only have a chance to watch it once and even if you don't fully appreciate the story, it's still a outstanding film that cannot be missed. Why? The number one reason this film is great, for me, is that all of the events of the film are seen subjectively through Jack Nicholson's character's eyes. For example, when Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is knocked unconscious, the film fades to black and fades in when he awakens. Importantly, Gittes appears in every scene of the film. Too often, I think, in films these days the viewer is granted a sort of bird's eye view on events or, at least, granted objective and information beyond the main character(s) point of view. One thing I've really been into lately are films which refuse to spoon feed viewers by doing this (this is why I really don't like "Cabin in the Woods," but that's a story for a different day maybe). I like films that limit space or time or perspective in some way. Polanski does this well in "Rosemary's Baby" and arguably it's used to even better effect in "Chinatown." Other than the fantastic performances from the three leads and the bat-shit climax, the other thing to take note of is the perfect pacing Polanski achieves here. Again unlike films today, we're not at rapid MTV pace. See for yourself on Netflix instant before it's too late!

Second up is Woody Allen's 1984 black & white "Broadway Danny Rose," with Woody Allen and Mia Farrow. Talent agent Danny Rose (Allen) becomes ensnared by a love triangle involving the mob when he helps a client. The story is told in flashback mode among a group of comedians reminiscing about Danny Rose. Danny Rose's clients are mostly talentless. But one, Lou, is making a comeback as a club singer. He's married, but he's also involved on the side with the ex-girlfriend, Tina (Farrow), of a mobster. Lou orders Danny to pose as Tina's boyfriend in order to divert attention away from his affair with her. The mobster thinks Danny and Tina's relationship is real and becomes extremely jealous. So he orders a hit on Danny! This is one of the best Woody Allen films from his severely underrated 80s period. Woody Allen and Mia Farrow work beautifully in this one. Both are hilarious. The climax isn't especially great, but the ending is charming and well-worth the watch. It's quite moving and funny all at the same time in only the way Woody Allen has perfected over his many, many years as one of the best filmmakers of all-time. Check it out on Netflix Instant before it goes extinct and be sure to keep your eyes peeled for Allen's new "Blue Jasmine" next week and following weeks.

Third up is Jim Jarmusch's 1999 strange crime action film "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai," starring Forest Whitaker and with music by RZA. Ghost Dog (Whitaker) is a hitman for the mafia who follows the ancient code of the samurai. His master orders Ghost Dog to kill a mobster sleeping with the boss's daughter. Ghost Dog does so but doesn't realize the boss's daughter is in the room when the hit goes down. Ghost Dog leaves. But then the mobsters decide to kill Ghost Dog so as not to be implicated in the murder of a mobster. Ghost Dog must kill all of the mobsters in order to save himself and his master. The film is one of Jarmusch's most original and strange. Ghost Dog only communicates through pigeons with his master. Ghost Dog has a friend who only speaks French. They don't speak the same language but somehow they understand each other. The film references Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" among other Japanese films as well as Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samurai." Also, cartoons are used as a metaphors for the plot. It's fascinating to watch if only because of how Jarmusch seamlessly brings all of this together. Jarmusch has always made movies about how different cultures come into contact and sometimes clash (really, there's too many to list). He's also always made moves about outsiders (or real-life vampires as Tilda Swinton has recently stated). "Ghost Dog" is no different. In fact, it may be the most explicit in this regard out of all his films. Ghost Dog is born into one culture, indentured to another, and expresses a strong affinity for yet a third. Forest Whitaker does a supreme job in his role as Ghost Dog. He has the ability to do little with his expressions and communicate melancholy and a sense of pride in his work as a samurai hitman. Perhaps it's not as effective a commentary on American violence as Jarmusch's "Dead Man," but this theme is still there. Jarmusch relentlessly shows us Ghost Dog's acts of violence in a behaviorist way without giving much away of the emotions and thoughts of the main character. The film works principally because of this, I think. (I love Bela Tarr's films for exactly the same reason.) Instead of getting into the head of the character the viewer is forced to make inferences based on external behavior. It forces viewers to pay attention and be engaged as opposed to allowing them to passively expect the film to give all away for nothing. It's been awhile since I've seen it---in fact, I think I'll watch it again before Netflix snipes it out of existence---but I also remember really enjoying the music by RZA. Watch it with me and keep your eyes peeled for a stateside release date of Jarmusch's new vampire flick "Only Lovers Left Alive," starring Tilds as a vampire!

Finally there's 1994's dark dramedy "Swimming with Sharks," starring the fantastic Kevin Spacey. Frank Whaley and Michelle Forbes are in it as well, but Spacey really makes this movie worth your while. Spacey plays Buddy Ackerman, a big-wig movie studio executive. He hires Guy, a recent graduate from film school, as his new assistant. Guy is naive in the beginning. But he soon realizes that Buddy is the boss from hell. The dynamic between the two in the first part of the movie are darkly hilarious. My one criticism is that the film isn't sure tonally of what it is in the concluding parts, but it's still worth watching. Well, it's a bit unbelievable too and a bit of a letdown imaginatively, but the main issue is the tone. Still, as I've said, it's worth watching if only you're a Kevin Spacey fan. He's really great as the impossibly mean boss that you can't do anything right for. We've all had similar experiences, and when they're embellished to this degree it really does makes for a great subject. Though it does seem embellished I don't think any other actor could've pulled this off as well as Spacey does here. He's perfectly understated, which makes his sporadic volcanic eruptions all the more insane and horrifying. Kevin Spacey is one of our greatest actors, and he had a really fantastic run in the 90s. This one is definitely another feather in his cap, and you should waste no time in seeing it if you're a big Spacey fan or you want to become one.

I'm So Excited

Pedro Almodovar's 2013 comedy "I'm So Excited" is playing in theaters (alas, not in Phoenix any longer). This is the second fantastic movie I've seen in theaters this year (the other was Shane Carruth's sci-fi romance "Upstream Color"). Insanely, but perhaps predictably, both had short-lived theatrical runs in the Phoenix-area. The film stars the great Javier Camara ("Talk to Her", "Bad Education"), the sexy Cecilia Roth ("All About My Mother"), and Lola Duenas ("Talk to Her", "Broken Embraces," "Volver"). The three main flight attendants are really great. One is played by Javier Camara. He's constantly drinking and completely unable to lie or keep his mouth shut. He's hilarious in that he's incapable of doing anything right and yet we feel all kinds of empathy for this, arguably, main character (compare his character in "Talk to Her"). The trio's musical interlude is one of the best moments of the film. However, as with all Almodovar films, the female characters take the cake for me. Cecilia Roth and, especially, Lola Duenas's characters are my favorite parts of this movie. Cecilia Roth plays a demanding escort who has seemingly had sex with many high officials and video taped all of it. She's a demanding character but whenever she's on the screen she also demands your eyes. Lola Duenas plays a psychic of sorts who becomes nauseous at the smell of past or future death and who really, really wants to lose her virginity. All of these characters and more are trapped in a plane circling above a city in Spain waiting for an airport to accept their emergency landing.

Almodovar is quoted as saying that the film harkens back to his 80s films, which were "light, very light comed[ies]", rather than the sort of dark, yet always colorful, melodramas (I'm convinced his are the only melodramas I enjoy) old and new Almodovar fans have grown accustomed to in more recent years (see chiefly, "All About My Mother" and "Talk to Her"). He's also hilariously been quoted as saying that the film is about being horny. That's an understatement. But the film is also a fantastic satire of how different microcosms of society respond to current states of the world. Did I mention all of the main characters are from business class and the economy class passengers and flight attendants have been put to sleep with a muscle relaxant?! Much more can be said toward the greatness of the film---I haven't even mentioned the fantastic cameos of Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas---but instead I'll stop here and strongly recommend finding a theater near you awesome enough to still have Almodovar's sex farce/satire playing.

Chaser and What's Eating Gilbert Grape

There's no doubt that South Korea is in the midst of a film renaissance. That film industry puts Hollywood to shame. I've consistently seen fantastic South Korean films even when I've essentially picked them randomly out of a hat. In fact, Na Hong-jin's 2008 directorial debut, "Chaser," was selected without much foresight, and it is definitely not an exception to the rule that South Korean films kick ass right now. It was beyond a pleasant surprise. The film was inspired by a real South Korean serial killer. Eom Joong-ho is an ex-dectective pimp. He looses two women and when the third is lost he finally realizes that before all three went missing they were all assigned the same customer. He decides to go hunt for his missing woman. We follow Eom Joong-ho mostly as he reveals the truth with or without his detective skills, but also we see glimpses of the horror the third woman, Mi-jin, is facing (e.g., attempts of piercing her skull with hammer and chisel). It's quite gut-wrenching stuff and not recommended for all. But it's not all blood and guts. The film succeeds so well because of (1) the Hitchcockean suspense, (2) the chase sequences in the city of Seoul, and, most importantly, (3) the fact that it's essentially a story about accidental redemption on the part of the Eom Joong-ho character. Kim Yoon-seok as Eom Joong-ho and Ha Jung-woo as the serial killer are both really fantastic and real. Kim is perfect in his role as the former good detective who has become a withered shell of that former self. Ha as the serial killer works because of his ability to show that emotional flatness we've all learned to associate with psychopaths. Finally, similarly to Bong Joon-ho's "Memories of Murder" and "Mother," there's an underlying critique of South Korean police work. Apparently, you must let a killer go for lack of evidence despite confession! It's a really fun film that shouldn't be missed. It's on Netflix Instant!

Remember when Johnny Depp was a good actor in good films? Lasse Hallstrom's 1993 ensemble "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" starring Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Juliette Lewis will help you jog your memory. In a small town in Iowa, Gilbert Grape (Depp) and his two sisters care for their obese mother and mentally challenged brother, Arnie (DiCaprio). While the family prepares for Arnie's upcoming 18th birthday a young woman, Becky (Lewis), and her grandmother arrive in town. Gilbert tries to balance his responsibilities at home while becoming increasingly involved with Becky. The film is a great study of the battle between individual happiness and group (in this case, familial) responsibilities. Though Lewis and others provides some much needed comic relief (the best dramas always have some light aspects for relief; otherwise the dramatic aspects become trying), Depp conveys all with his eyes instead of acting like a bat shit crazy man as he is wont to do these days, and Hallstrom takes care not to let the film devolve into sentimental garbage or melodrama but allows it to hit you in all your soft parts just the same, DiCaprio as Arnie is the best part. I mean, WOW! He was a fantastic actor before he was the fantastic actor everyone knows him as now. Dude has range. The voice and mannerisms are spot-on. His childlike innocence really comes out in a way that I've never seen before. Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man" comes close, but I always feel like Hoffman is underneath the character. With DiCaprio I was lost in the character of Arnie. Be sure to check out this pleasant if sometimes emotionally difficult film on Netflix Instant!
 

Louie (season 3)

Louis C.K.'s Louie, as with Mad Men, is one of the most consistently good TV shows on right now. It's different than his stand-up, but it's equally good for different reasons. Rather than being flat-out laugh your ass off comedy, Louie is much more of a dramedy. Here we see Louie the filmmaker, thinker, and writer, rather than the stage performer. And it's hard not to think the man is close to genius. He's actually a really fantastic filmmaker (each episode is like a high-quality short film). Never have I payed so much attention to shot composition in some other comedy TV show (let alone comedy film). But he's also just a fantastic writer of narrative. The show is comparable to the greatness of Larry David's Curb. Both writers are fantastic comedians with a honest and hilarious outlooks on life and human interaction. Both are my heroes. The structure of the show has always been loose, but this season I think is the best. Louis C.K. shows his experimental filmmaker side more than before, but narrative threads still exist throughout. There are so many fantastic episodes in this season it's hard to pick a favorite. The blind date episode (complete with a "Fucking Obama" from nowhere) might take the cake, but Louis's trip to Miami, the Parker Posey arc, and the Late Show trilogy (with David fucking Lynch) could take the cake as well depending on my mood. I wish I didn't have to wait so long for season 4!

Mad Men (season 6)

Matthew Weiner's Mad Men is the most consistently fantastic show on television right now. This season continues offering a glimpse into the advertising profession during the 60s via slices of the lives of those involved. And again, season 6 manages to do so while staying fresh and original. It is able to stay fresh and original, I think, because of its explicit timeline but also precisely because of its slice-of-life structure. Many television shows have the following structure: one overall narrative arc that lasts throughout the season and repetitive narrative arcs that are contained within individual episodes. This year's Hannibal, for example, followed that structure exactly. Mad Men succeeds so well, I think, because it eschews such devices. Yes, there are narrative threads, but Mad Men is very loose with them. Anyway, that's why I like it so much. Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss continue to be my favorite characters. Peggy becoming more and more comfortable and more and more like a mini-Draper might be one of the most interesting and satisfying character arcs I've ever seen. I was also glad to see Pete, Betty, and Trudy become more well-rounded in their new lives (well, new, compared to the start of the series). My only criticism is Bob Benson. I don't know how they should've introduced him and made the character more compelling, but they didn't do it well. He's just always there ruining the scene, in my opinion. Of course, what is interesting about him comes later, but that's because he ends up having explicit or implicit connections with the main characters (chiefly Don and Pete). So, perhaps it would have been better to ground him earlier somehow. Perhaps Pete could've been on to him sooner or something. Anyway, it's definitely still the best show on currently.

Clips: Rules of the Game, 8 1/2, Late Spring, Ikiru, and La Jetee

Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir)

8 1/2 (Federico Fellini)

Late Spring (Yasujiro Ozu)

Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa)

La Jetee (Chris Marker)