FILM DIARY

The Sunshine Boys

2005-12-03T16:50:00.000+02:00

US 1995 (TV). D: John Erman. On DVD, 3 Dec 2005. Peter Falk & Woody.

Play It Again, Sam

2005-12-03T00:13:00.000+02:00

Kerta vielä, Sam. US 1972. D: Herbert Ross (sreenplay & play by Woody). On TV (TV2), 2 Dec 2005. Got to appreciate the depression.

Maid in Manhattan

2005-11-27T23:06:00.000+02:00

Unelmien Manhattan. US 2002. D: Wayne Wang. With a bottle of wine and depression, anything goes. And it wasn't that bad either, I'm tired of this everything has to be new stupidity anyway. Ralph Fiennes does it all, no matter what.
E: I was drunk, obviously.

Hundstage

2005-11-21T18:02:00.000+02:00

Koiran päiviä / Dog Days. AUT 2001. D: Ulrich Seidl. On DVD, 21 Nov 2005.

Entre tinieblas

2005-11-21T00:14:00.000+02:00

Pahat tavat / Dark Habits. ESP 1983. D: Pedro Almodóvar. On DVD, 20 Nov 2005. Songs.

Last Action Hero

2005-11-19T11:47:00.000+02:00

US 1993. D: John MacTiernan. On TV (Nelonen), 18 Nov 2005.

Airheads

2005-11-19T11:45:00.000+02:00

Sekopäät. US 1994. D: Michael Lehmann. On DVD, 18 Nov 2005. It was only 11 years ago.

The Assassination of Richard Nixon

2005-11-17T18:09:00.000+02:00

Richard Nixonin salamurha. US 2004. D: Niels Mueller. On DVD, 17 Nov 2005. Penn & Watts. Kind of a start for those 9/11 movies that will come, eventually.

Forrest Gump

2005-11-13T23:50:00.000+02:00

US 1994. D: Robert Zemeckis. On TV (Nelonen), 13 Nov 2005. I like it.

One Fine Day

2005-11-13T17:16:00.000+02:00

Eräänä kauniina päivänä. D: Michael Hoffman. US 1996. On TV (MTV3), 13 Nov 2005.

Nirgendwo in Africa

2005-11-04T23:59:00.000+02:00

Jossain Afrikassa. GER 2001. D: Caroline Link. On DVD, 4 Nov 2005. Won Oscar.

A History of Violence

2005-11-03T00:29:00.000+02:00

US 2005. D: David Cronenberg. At Kinopalatsi 5, 2 Nov 2005. Maria Bello. I though I've seen her -- Schrader's Auto Focus (I never remember). If there is anything Cronenbergish, it's the tempo (& the blood). Fun.

I've kept this now for almost 6 months. 3+19+12+14+10+12= 70 movies. Not that many, still too much.

Capricciosa

2005-10-30T03:27:00.000+02:00

SWE 2003. D: Reza Bagher. On DVD, 30 Oct 2005. Made me think of Finnish films. That's bad. But obviously, this was better.

Ken Park

2005-10-29T17:13:00.000+03:00

US 2002. D: Larry Clark. On DVD, 28 Oct 2005. Sex does look dull in porn.

Petites coupures

2005-10-28T22:22:00.000+03:00

Pieni viilto vain. FR 2003. D: Pascal Bonitzer. On DVD, 28 Oct 2005. It's about nothing, not about much. A good translation of the name (there's a little but significant change of mood to melancholy). Scott Thomas makes me always think about someone, she was just as mad and fabulous. Auteuil: 54.

Cold Mountain

2005-10-27T04:07:00.000+03:00

Päämääränä Cold Mountain. US 2003. D: Anthony Minghella. On DVD, 27 Oct 2005. Suprisingly, good. Intelligent, obscure, mystical. Kidman.

Changing Lanes

2005-10-26T23:17:00.000+03:00

Paha päivä. US 2002. D: Roger Mitchell. On TV, 26 Oct 2005.

Young Adam

2005-10-25T16:26:00.000+03:00

Nuori Adam / Young Adam. UK 2003. D: David MacKenzie. Based on Alexander Trocchi's novel. Original music by: David Byrne. On DVD, 25 Oct 2005. David Byrne continues strong. McGregor & Tilda Swinton. Beat, spanking & love. I'm sure the structure is from the novel. Fabulous. Dreary & suspense.

In Good Company

2005-10-25T13:55:00.000+03:00

US 2004. D: Paul Weitz. On DVD, 25 Oct 2005. Scarlett. Starts with David Byrne (Glass, Concrete, And Stone). Slow. Horrible at times. Even Scarlett is souless. Bad something (& writing), drags. Ends ok. No romance. New beginning with a distant friend.

Now / I'm waking at the crack of dawn / To send a little money home / From me to / The moon / Is rising like a discotheque / And now my bags are down and packed / For traveling.

Broken Flowers

2005-10-08T18:31:00.000+03:00

US 2005. D: Jim Jarmusch. At Kinopalatsi 1, 8 Oct 2005. The most horrible beginning in the history of moving image: Julie Delpy leaving.

I Was a Man

2005-10-06T23:27:00.000+03:00

Olin mies. US 1967. D: Barry Mahon. At Orion, 6 Oct 2005. The body of a man... The feelings of a woman! Grindhouse Obscura -programme, camp. Freaks have always been a good way to put some skin & titties on the canvas. On the other side, Ansa/Anssi, the man who goes through the surgery and finds happiness as a woman he is, is truly a character worth a story. Exploitation. The surreal stand-up scene at the end... sympathy.

Paradise Now

2005-10-05T22:01:00.000+03:00

FR/GER/NED/ISR 2005. D: Hany Abu-Assad (& co-written by). At Bio City 3, 5 Oct 2005. Amnesty winner, Berlin 2005. 1 other sad soul at the theater. Said and Khaled get the job to revenge, to die as suicide bombers. I had no interest to see it in the context, all I cared for was Said. An excellent piece of suicide cinema. Goes to my top 5 list:

Top 5 suicide movies, 1990-:
1. Groundhog Day (1993). The deepest & the funniest.
2-5:
I Hired a Contract Killer (1990). It can always get worse.
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002). There are no reasons, but it is what Wilbur wants.
The Virgin Suicides (1999). They are young & there's a lot of them.
Paradise Now (2005). It's personal.

César et Rosalie

2005-10-04T23:26:00.000+03:00

César ja Rosalie. FR/IT/BRD 1972. D: Claude Sautet. At Orion, 4 Oct 2005. Triangel, Rosalie (Romy Schneider) loves César but wants David. César old, rich and dull (business), David young, handsome and interesting (art). Rosalie just fabulous, no need for reasons. Funny, light and depressing - a good combination. César fantastic, a depressed older man with endless ways to drive recklessly. I should move to 1970s France.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

2005-10-03T18:48:00.000+03:00

Jali ja suklaatehdas. US/UK/AUS 2005. D: Tim Burton. At Kinopalatsi 2, 3 October 2005. Candy doesn't have to have a point. Helena Bonham Carter with brown teeth making cabbage soup. This is it, the possibility of Helena Bonham Carter with brown teeth making you cabbage soup. The best Burton in years.

Personal note 9/29

2005-09-29T08:22:00.000+03:00

Sick for 4 weeks, extremely sick for 2 weeks (pneumonia).

Full Frontal

2005-09-12T00:44:00.000+03:00

US 2002. D: Steven Soderbergh. On DVD 11, September 2005. Listing these here doesn't make it any less waste of time. That's it with the DVDs for a while. It's just depressing.

8 Mile

2005-09-11T04:59:00.000+03:00

US 2002. D: Curtis Hanson. On DVD, 10 September 2005. One of the best music films ever made (I still think Purple Rain is among the top 5, say what you want -- it's now number 5). There's a ton what I haven't seen 2002-

Road to Perdition

2005-09-10T04:31:00.000+03:00

Matkalla Perditioniin. US 2002. D: Sam Mendes. On DVD, 10 September 2005. Came out probably early 2003 here (would explain why I haven't seen it). Jarhead (2005), Sweeney Todd (in production, 2006), The Kite Runner (announced, 2006).

Nói albínói

2005-09-10T00:42:00.000+03:00

Nói Albiino - kylmyyden vanki. IS, DE, UK & DK 2003. D: Dagur Kári. On DVD, 9 September 2005.

The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

2005-09-08T22:52:00.000+03:00

Sodan oppitunnit. US 2003. D: Errol Morris. On DVD, 8 September 2005. IMDb. Documentary. Robert Strange McNamara. Won Oscar.

The Aviator

2005-09-08T19:10:00.000+03:00

Lentäjä. US 2004. D: Martin Scorsese. On DVD, 8 September 2005. IMDb. After Gangs of New York, I decided not to see the next one. A revenge of a sort; the Gangs was such a disappointment. As for this, it's entertaining. Would be fun to see Hell's Angels, should see Scarface, has to see The Outlaw. I miss the look of the Scorsese's 70s films.

If somebody knows the name of the "standard" film they used around 1975, please feel free to drop me a line at ampfilmdiary@gmail.com (or if there's a book about different films etc at around those times). It would be appreciated.

Closer

2005-09-08T15:56:00.000+03:00

Closer - iholla. US 2004. D: Mike Nichols. On DVD, 8 September 2005. IMDb. Natalie Portman. Bradshaw hated it for a reason. But then again, it does have Portman.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

2005-09-08T13:21:00.000+03:00

Boltsit pelissä. US 2004. D: Rawson Marshall Thurber. On DVD, 8 September 2005. IMDb. In slapstick, I guess it's a question of what object is used in hitting: a trout is a fairly good choice, for example, and a baseball bat pretty bad. It's just too obvious. This is somewhere in between.

Sick, a fever of 38,1 C.

Why We Fight (2005)

2005-09-07T23:46:00.000+03:00

Miksi sodimme? US/DK 2005. D: Eugene Jarecki. On TV (TV2), 7 September 2005. IMDb. Documentary. An obvious reference to well-known propaganda series. The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002). All the characters aren't followed through, others grown from unimportant to main characters. No tricks.

I'm fed up with TV/DVD/VCR (still broken).

Crash

2005-09-02T16:08:00.000+03:00

US 2004. D: Paul Haggis (& written by, with Robert Moresco). At Kinopalatsi 9, 2 September 2005. IMDb. Drama. A quality film -- a phrase that has replaced the good old "technically brilliant" in recent reviews (with its pejorative meanings). Serious look & feel, with tens of emotional points; it can be exhausting and uninteresting after two hours. It is rare that a drama of this sort works: it has a way of coming out as unreal, overly serious and dramatic (sentimental). It's a peculiar convention of this genre. Still, a quality film, and I like it even more today (the day after) than I did right after it. A fantastic script, no doubt.

Factotum

2005-08-30T23:04:00.000+03:00

US 2005. D: Bent Hamer. At Maxim 1, 30 August 2005. IMDb. A Bukowski movie. Better than I expected. Marisa Tomei has talent: she's almost ugly.

How I Won the War

2005-08-28T23:25:00.000+03:00

Miten voitin sodan / How I Won the War. UK 1967. D: Richard Lester. On DVD, 28 August 2005. IMDb. John Lennon & the glasses. One good nonsense gag (around 10 minutes).

The Two Jakes

2005-08-28T23:22:00.000+03:00

US 1990. D: Jack Nicholson. On DVD, 28 August 2005. IMDb. Sequel to Chinatown. Suprising. A weird sex scene with the widow ("Get on the floor... Yes, I will give it to you").

Ondskan

2005-08-28T23:18:00.000+03:00

Pahuus / Ondskan. SWE 2003. D: Mikael Håfström. On DVD, 28 August 2005. IMDb. Based on Jan Guillon's well-known book. It's not that often that I wait eagerly for the main character to hit the crap out of his enemies. Håfström: Derailed (2005, Jennifer Aniston & Clive Owen).

The Village

2005-08-28T23:15:00.000+03:00

Kylä / The Village. US 2004. D: M. Night Shyamalan (& written by). On DVD, 28 August 2005. IMDb.

Melinda & Melinda

2005-08-24T23:26:00.000+03:00

US 2004. D: Woody Allen (& written by). On DVD, 24 August 2005. IMDb. Straight to video. Sounds From a Town I Love (TV, 2001), Anything Else (2003), Match Point (2005).

Film books at City Library 10

2005-08-23T01:57:00.000+03:00

Helsinki City Library's books grouped around the themes of Finnish Film Archive's fall program at cinema Orion, set up at Library 10 (Kirjasto 10). Posters, still photos & other material, program leaflets, computers with access to archive's databases. From 23th August to 11th September.

Books from the metropolitan area library network, including four cities and 67 public libraries. 30 bindings on Almodóvar, over 40 on Allen, around 150 in total. A fair amount of it went the first day.

Mark Cousins: The Story of Film

2005-08-20T21:44:00.000+03:00

London: Pavilion Books, 2004. 512 pages. No book that opens with a Lauren Bacall quote can be bad ("The industry is shit, it's the medium that's great"). World, not just Western, cinema. Account on early Japanese cinema, India & the rest of Asia, Africa noted. Compact. Ferreri's El cochecito / The Wheelchair (Spain, 1959): Don Anselmo, a widower who, in trying to to buy a motorized wheelchair, inadvertently ends up killing his whole family. Almodóvar liked him & Fernan Gomez. I like Ferreri already.

5x2

2005-08-20T19:00:00.000+03:00

Rakkaus - meno & paluu / Five Times Two / 5x2 (Cinq fois deux). FR 2004. D: François Ozon (& scenario by). At Maxim 1, 20 August 2005. IMDb. Marion (Bruni-Tedeschi) and Gill (Freiss), from end to beginning. Audience of 7, me included (370 seats). ***

Morning Glory

2005-08-19T03:36:00.000+03:00

Viattomuuden kukka / Morning Glory. US 1933. D: Lowell Sherman. On DVD, 18 August 2005. IMDb. Drama. Again in the theater world (Adolphe Menjou has exactly the same role as in Stage Door), Hepburn is a theatrical & childlike nut trying to make it on the Broadway stage. World is evil, and the childish Eva (Hepburn) will purify it. **

Stage Door

2005-08-18T23:50:00.000+03:00

Suuri hetki / Stage Door. US 1937. D: Gregory La Cava. On DVD, 18. August 2005. IMDb. Drama / Comedy. Katherine Hepburn, the Meg Ryan of the golden age of Hollywood cinema. (Hepburn: 4 Oscars & 12 Oscar nominatios, Ryan: nomination for best actress in Kid's Choice Awards 1999, Drew Barrymore won.) Terry (Hepburn) is an aspiring actress who goes to live to a boardinghouse full of aspiring actresses. First scene out of the boardinghouse: 23 minutes (stage rehearsals, 1 minute, then back to the boardinghouse). "Witty" dialogue. The funniest part: Terry explains how an aspiring actress should have a go-getter spirit, just like the one her grandfather had: "If he and a lot of others hadn't crossed the country in the wagons, there would still be indians living in Wichita." ***

From Hell

2005-08-12T21:35:00.000+03:00

US 2001. D: Albert & Allen Hughes (credited as the Hughes brothers). On DVD, 12 August 2005. IMDb. Missed this when in theaters. A reference to Lynch's The Elephant Man (John Merrick scene). Depp, Graham. Stylish, conventional (love, blood & suspense) yet bizarre (references to classic drama, hallucinations). The epoch is perfect for the style & theme. A romantic movie with few corpses. I have no idea why Peter Bradshaw & others think it's crap. ****

Le temps du loup

2005-08-11T20:14:00.000+03:00

Suden aika / The Time of the Wolf / Le temps du loup. FRA/AUT/GER 2003. D: Michael Haneke (& written by). On DVD, 11 August 2005. IMDb. Isabelle Hubbert (52). Dark (literally). ***

Point Break

2005-08-10T05:23:00.000+03:00

Myrskyn ratsastajat / Point Break. US 1991. D: Kathryn Bigelow. On DVD, 10 August 2005. IMDb. Surfing & cheese. *(*)

John Waters: Shokkiarvo

2005-08-09T22:41:00.000+03:00

[Shock Value, 1981.] Joensuu: Mabuse, 1989. Translated by Kari Lempinen. 238 pages. Early memoirs of the king of trash. Tips on trial hopping. He's been at Watergate, Manson, Patty Hearst and just about every famous trial of the 70s. Information on how to get the best seat at trials, how to do pilgrimages to crime scenes & crime scene investigation by yourself (trashes important). Entertaining. Cecil B. DeMented (2000), A Dirty Shame (2004).

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

2005-08-08T23:34:00.000+03:00

Linnunradan käsikirja liftareille / The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. US/UK 2005. D: Garth Jennings. Kinopalatsi 1, 8 August 2005. IMDb. Great beginning (song), great ending (direction of the ship). Liked the BBC series already. Martin Freeman & Zooey Deschanel a perfect match. (Deschanel unbelievably sexy. It seems like a trick.) Stephen Fry. ****

Orion's programme for fall 2005

2005-08-04T10:57:00.000+03:00

Finnish Film Archive has its own cinema, the beautifully restored Orion (from the 1920s originally). A fairly interesting programme for fall 2005, including Almodóvar (retrospective, a chance to see Entre tinieblas / Yön sisaret (1982), 8/25, 9/11), Jacques Demy (8 films) & Woody Allen (from Manhattan to Shadows and Fog). Somebody at the archive really likes Pudovkin's Potomok Chingis-Khana / Storm Over Asia / Myrsky yli Aasian (1928), feels like it is on the program just about every year.

Days of Heaven

2005-08-03T23:58:00.000+03:00

US 1978. D: Terrence Malick (& written by). On DVD, 3 August 2005. IMDb. I thought I had seen it. It's a waste to see films like this on DVD. Brooke Adams. In production: The New World (post 2005, written & directed), Che (pre 2005, written, Soderbergh directing). ****(*)

Heartburn

2005-08-03T22:15:00.000+03:00

Sydän karrella / Heartburn. US 1986. D: Mike Nichols. On DVD, 3 August 2005. IMDb. Comedy / Drama. A Nora Ephron while Ryan project is on hold (VCR broken). Mark (Jack Nicholson) meets Rachel (Meryl Streep) and they live unhappily ever after. Turns at around 30 minutes and gets better. Couldn't be more 80s: great clothes, a great title song by Carly Simon. (You could do a whole programme on just title songs, 1986 especially good year with Top Gun.) Milos Forman cameo (Dmitri, Rachel's last name in the movie is Forman), Kevin Spacey's film debut (30 seconds, robs Rachel's therapy group). ***

Sin City

2005-07-31T16:59:00.000+03:00

US 2005. D: Robert Rodriguez (Miller & Tarantino). Kinopalatsi 1, 31 July 2005. IMDb. Based on Miller's Sin City. Stylish, brute, with attitude. It took me a while to get into it. Three stories with different characters. The stories are there just to carry the style and attitude. Rourke, Alba, Willis, Madsen, Owen all-star cast. ****

War of the Worlds

2005-07-29T18:30:00.000+03:00

Maailmojen sota / War of the Worlds. US (c) 2005. D: Steven Spielberg. Kinopalatsi 8, 29 July 2005. IMDb. First 15 minutes great, then the normal Spielberg turn. Still good, not that sentimental. Beautifully shot. Good kid, good monsters. Morgan Freeman's narration. The mystery wasn't totally destroyed. ***

Geoff Andrew: Stranger than Paradise: Maverick film-makers in recent American cinema

2005-07-26T23:28:00.000+03:00

London: Prion Books, 1998. 374 pages. A book I've thought about reading something like 3 years now, never got to it for some reason. A brief (pre)history of indie cinema, from the Corman school to Soderbergh. Chapters: Lynch, Sayles, Wang, Jarmusch, Coens, Spike, Haynes, Hal Hartley, Tarantino, smaller names. Andrew's reading of Lynch is exactly like mine (Wild at Heart isn't "flawed", but I know what he means). Skipped Wang and Hartley. There seems to be a brand new edition.

To see:

Corman movies: Sorority Girl (1957), The St Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) & others
Indie comedy of the 70's-: Demme, Bartel (Private parts 1972, Cannonball 1976), Joe Dante (before Gremlins), Waters (haven't seen Mondo Trasho (1969), Desperate Living (1977), Polyester (1981), Hairspray (1988))
Malick: Badlands (1973) still missing, can't remember Days of Heaven (1979)
Sayles: Return of the Secaucus Seven (1979)
Mann: The Jericho Mile (1979, TV) , Thief (aka Violent Streets, 1981)
Shrader: Blue Collar (1978)
Jarmusch: Stanger than Paradise (1984), Night on Earth (1991), missed the Coffee & Cigarettes 2003, Broken Flowers coming "soon"
A ton of Wenders (just about everything before Paris, Texas)
The Coen brothers: Blood simple (1984)
Lee: She Hate Me (2004, everyone seems to hate it), Sucker Free City (2004, TV), Jesus Children of America (2005, announced?)
Haynes: Poison (1990)
Bigelow: Blue Steel (1990), Point Break (1991)
Buscemi: Trees Lounge (1996)
Solondz: Fear, Anxiety & Depression (1989)
van Sant: Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993)

Nikogarsnja zemlja

2005-07-26T20:47:00.000+03:00

Ei kenenkään maa / No Man's Land. Slovenia (Fra & UK) 2001. D: Danis Tanovic. On DVD, 26 July 2005. IMDb. Best Screenplay Cannes 2001, Oscar 2002. Oscar for obvious reasons, but the film has it's merits. Good ending. ***

Stupeur et tremblements

2005-07-25T23:45:00.000+03:00

Nöyrin palvelijanne / Fear and Trembling. Fra 2003. D: Alain Corneau. Novel by Amélie Nothomb. On DVD, 25 July 2005. IMDb. Amélie was forced to leave Japan at the age of five. Now, as an young adult, she goes back and and gets a job at the Yumimoto corporation. A clever drama/comedy. Sylvie Testud. ****

Antwone Fisher

2005-07-24T00:59:00.000+03:00

Tapaus Antwone Fisher / Antwone Fisher. US (c) 2002. D: Denzel Washington. Written by Antwone Fisher. On DVD, 23 July 2005. IMDb. Drama / Biography. A story of a troubled young navy officer who is forced to see a psychiatrist and decides to meet with his past. With all the elements for a horrible TV-movie, suprisingly good. Sharp dialogue, not too much written. ***

Batman Begins

2005-07-23T16:17:00.000+03:00

US (c) 2005. D: Christopher Nolan. At Kinopalatsi 7, 23 July 2005. IMDb. Good atmosphere, good ending. Bale good as well, though I still like Keaton who had something not-so-serious in his Bruce. The stylish mystery of Batman Returns is still without rivals, this has other strong sides. A lot of fight scenes, ninjas forming walls the only interesting one (clever). Cillian Murphy great and the real villain of the movie. Nolan has a style he follows. ****

Super Size Me

2005-07-21T00:11:00.000+03:00

Birthday Girl

2005-07-13T22:42:00.000+03:00

Syntymäpäivätyttö / Birthday Girl. UK/US (c) 2001. D: Jez Butterworth. On TV (SubTV), 13 July 2005. IMDb. Drama / Black romance. Nicole Kidman as a Russian mail-order bride. Ben Chaplin great, Kidman fabulous. A tiny film, not bad at all. Kidman makes it; she's fantasy-like, real, tiny. Things to remember: knitting needles. ***

When a Man Loves a Woman

2005-07-10T23:32:00.000+03:00

Kun mies löytää naisen / When a Man Loves a Woman. US (c) 1994. D: Luis Mandoki. On TV (Nelonen), 10 July 2005. IMDb. Ryan the alcoholist. Long, sentimental, annoying. *

12 to go. I need a break.

Le Placard

2005-07-10T18:48:00.000+03:00

Kaappi / Le Placard. Fra (c) 2001. D: Francis Veber. On DVD, 9 July 2005. IMDb. Daniel Auteuil gets fired, loves still his ex-wife, and considers suicide. I liked this part. ***

The best of suicide, a 3-day program for the major holidays:

Day 1. I Hired a Contract Killer
Day 2. The Virgin Suicides
Day 3. Groundhog Day

Nothing to Lose

2005-07-03T21:25:00.000+03:00

Ei mitään menetettävää / Nothing to Lose. US (c) 1997. D: Steve Oedekerk. IMDb. On TV (MTV3), 3 July 2005. On some perverse level, I like Martin Lawrence. The movie is crap, of course. Still funny, though. **

When Harry Met Sally...

2005-07-02T01:02:00.000+03:00

Garden State

2005-06-29T21:54:00.000+03:00

US (c) 2004. D: Zach Braff. On DVD, 29 June 2005. IMDb. A tiny story, canyon episode in the middle. Stupid and honest conversations, lot's of little things messing around the story, notoriously hard concepts handled like air. Natalie Portman's Sam.
****

Against the Ropes

2005-06-29T21:04:00.000+03:00

Kunnian taistelu / Against the Ropes. US (c) 2004. D: Charles S. Dutton. On DVD, 29 June 2005. IMDb. Boxing promoter Meg Ryan. Saw 55 minutes of it. Just plain horrible. This is a stupid project anyway.
*

13 to go.

25th hour

2005-06-27T06:46:00.000+03:00

Après vous

2005-06-25T14:12:00.000+03:00

Teidän jälkeenne / Après vous. Fra (c) 2003. D: Pierre Salvadori. On DVD, 24 June 2005. IMDb. Antoine (Auteuil) saves Louis (Garcia) from hanging himself, though in his attempt to get Louis back on his feet, Antoine gets caught in a romantic triangle. Blanche (Sandrine Kiberlain) something to remember.
***

Blanche the florist gets to my list. Christine the Nurejev fan still in the lead, though.

I.Q.

2005-06-25T13:46:00.000+03:00

I.Q - Rakkauden yhtälö / I.Q. US (c) 1994. D: Fred Schepisi. On DVD, 24. June 2005. IMDb. Albert Einstein fixes Meg Ryan's love life. Ebert rated this better than Sleepless in Seattle.
*

14 to go.

Cidade de Deus

2005-06-23T22:10:00.000+03:00

City of God / Cidade de Deus. Bra (c) 2002. D: Fernando Meirelles. On DVD, 22 June 2005. IMDb. Based on a true story, telling the story of Cidade de Deus through two boys, from the late 60's to 80's. Violent, beautiful, sincere.
*****

A 6 day matinee program for the severely depressed:

Day 1. Groundhog day
Day 2. Fight Club
Day 3. Les parapluis de Cherbourg
Day 4. Cidade de Deus
Day 5. Zelig
Day 6. Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón

French Kiss

2005-06-21T00:42:00.000+03:00

Ranskalainen suudelma / French Kiss. US (c) 1995. D: Lawrence Kasdan. On DVD, 20 June 2005. IMDb. Kate (Meg Ryan) flyes to France to save her relationship and meets a small time crook with potency problems (Kevin Kline). Funny at times.
**

11 down, 15 to go (Agains the Ropes, Hurlyburly, Addicted to Love, Restoration, I. Q., When a Man Loves a Woman, Flesh and Bone, Prelude to a Kiss, Joe Versus the Volcano, D.O.A., Innerspace, Promised Land, Armed and Dangerous, Amityville 3-D, Rich and Famous).

The Woodsmen

2005-06-19T00:23:00.000+03:00

US (c) 2004. D: Nicole Kassell. Viewed at Kinopalatsi 3, 19 June 2005. IMDb. A pedophile returns to his hometown after 12 years in prison.
***

Death to Smoochy

2005-06-17T00:31:00.000+03:00

Smoochy / Death to Smoochy. US (c) 2002. D: Danny DeVito. On DVD, 16 June 2005. IMDb. Smoochy the Rhino (Edward Norton) gets to know the show business. Probably the best puppet / men-in-animal-costumes movie since Meet the Feebles. Morbid humor, guns and singing, the pace and timing works almost all the time. Smoochy's ice show at the end with re-enactments of Smoochy's hard times... pure enjoyment. Rainbow Randolf step dances in the same park where they decided to head west in Hair. Robin Williams got a razzle nomination for the part.
****

To Die For

2005-06-16T16:17:00.000+03:00

Hinnalla millä hyvänsä / To Die For. US (c) 1995. D: Gus Van Sant. On DVD, 16 June 2005. IMDb. Nicole Kidman as an aspiring TV personality who will do anything to be in the spotlight- including enlisting 3 teenagers to kill her husband.
**

Elephant

2005-06-15T23:37:00.000+03:00

US (c) 2003. D: Gus Van Sant. On DVD, 15 June 2005. IMDb. There is not a single pointing finger. Hilarious gay class scene. And the point couldn't be clearer. There's tons of stuff here, all with ease. If somebody is still thinking films are about movement and action, they really aren't. They are about making the point without pointing to it, making the emotion with just somebody walking.
*****

Looks like it takes a while for Last Days to get here.

Fight Club

2005-06-14T01:14:00.000+03:00

Keeping the Faith

2005-06-13T13:34:00.000+03:00

Usko koetuksella / Keeping the Faith. US (c) 2000. D: Edward Norton. On DVD, 12 June 2005. IMDb. There's a priest, a rabbi and a girl. Milos Forman cameo (father Havel -- probably a joke).
***

Paolo Cherchi Usai: The Death of Cinema: History, Cultural Memory and the Digital Dark Age

2005-06-10T14:43:00.000+03:00

London: BFI, 2001 (English edition). Preface by Martin Scorsese. 133 pages. 52 aphorisms. A philosophy of decay, of some sort.

Million Dollar Baby

2005-06-09T20:50:00.000+03:00

Paul Read & Mark-Paul Meyer (eds): Restoration of Motion Picture Film

2005-06-09T15:40:00.000+03:00

Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000. 359 pages. A hand book on film restoration. If Usai's book was a lyric pamphlet by an italian aristocrat (the french knighted him few years back), this is a technical manual. Some of the most technical chapters aren't readable at all, still interesting. It compensates in detail: diagrams, numbers, fact sheets (there's something like 20 pages on different perforations). Useful glossary of terms. Information on sound restoration. Technical, focusing on the material side (as opposed to Usai's nonmaterial approach).

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

2005-06-08T22:57:00.000+03:00

Steve Zissoun vedenalainen maailma / The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. US (c) 2004. D: Wes Anderson. Viewed at Tennispalatsi, 8 June 2005. IMDb. Things to remember: Cate Blanchett, Seu Jorge. Things I've forgotten: Seu Jorge (he was in No Moro Brasil).
***

Kill Bill: Vol 2

2005-06-07T11:17:00.000+03:00

Who's That Knocking at My Door?

2005-06-05T22:56:00.000+03:00

Kuka kolkuttaa ovelleni? / Who's That Knocking at My Door? US (c) 1967. D: Martin Scorsese. On DVD, 5 June 2005. IMDb. J.R. (Harvey Keitel) meets a girl (Zina Bethune) and a picture of John Wayne on a ferry. A school film. Ebert liked it. Scorsese probably liked Antonioni. I liked Bethune (cute). **

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

2005-06-05T19:10:00.000+03:00

US (c) 2002. D: George Clooney. SC: Charlie Kaufman. Watched on DVD, 5 June 2005. IMDb. An adaptation of the cult memoir of game show impressario Chuck Barris, in which he purports to have been a CIA hitman.

A story turned into something completely different by Kaufman.

- I came up with a new game-show idea recently. It's called The Old Game. You got three old guys with loaded guns onstage. They look back at their lives, see who they were, what they accomplished, how close they came to realizing their dreams. The winner is the one who doesn't blow his brains out. He gets a refrigerator.

Near the end: Nietzsche, Julia Roberts and a cup of poisoned tea.
*****

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

2005-06-04T18:17:00.000+03:00

Star Wars: Episodi III - Sithin kosto / Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. US (c) 2005. D: George Lucas. IMDb. Viewed at Kinopalatsi, Helsinki, 3 June 2005. Comic. As somebody pointed out, Yoda looked like Frogger. **

Boxcar Bertha

2005-05-31T00:17:00.000+03:00

Vapauden verinen laulu / Boxcar Bertha. US (c) 1972. D: Martin Scorsese. Watched on DVD, 30 May 2005. IMDb. A pure exploitation/B movie. Car chases, train robberies, Barbara Hershey naked, a crucifixion at the end (Hershey seems to be around when those happen -- Mary in The Last Temptation of Christ). There is something not totally boring in Hershey's character. *

Signs

2005-05-29T23:33:00.000+03:00

Paolo Cherchi Usai: Silent Cinema: An Introduction

2005-05-26T23:13:00.000+03:00

London: BFI, 2000. 229 pages. Revised and expanded (119/229 pages) edition of Burning Passions: An Introduction to the Study of Silent Cinema (1994). Fanatical yet academic. Great bibliographies at the end of each chapter. Masses of facts and solid arguments on film preservation, from technical details to ethics, from tinted prints to vinegar syndrome and beyond. Classic.

After Hours

2005-05-24T22:39:00.000+03:00

Illasta aamuun / After Hours. US (c) 1985. D: Martin Scorsese. IMDb. Director's prize at Cannes 1986. Viewed on DVD 24 May 2005. Paul (Griffin Dunne) meets Marcy (Rosanna Arquette) at a coffee shop after work. Arquette great as a troubled man-eater. Scorsese's best comedy still a drama (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore). **