The Best Films of the 2000s and more.
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Chaplin, on a Personal Note
Sep 2nd
I’ve been an avid Chaplin fan for many years now. At least once a year I put on a great number of his films out of shear enjoyment, (as a blogger I find myself consistently with a pile of film I “have” to watch.) Chaplin never ceases to make me laugh, even at the worst of times, (though my petty ‘worst of times’ is nothing compared to the ‘worst of times’ when his films were first released…)
This summer a great friend of mine gave me one of the best birthday presents, in the form of the Tramp. David Robinson’s Chaplin biography. It’s considerably in-depth, and I love every second of it.
Also, I’ve been plucking through this BFI book on City Lights. I’ve read it numerous times already, but it’s a good reference on the film.
Chaplin, for lack of a more dignified term, um, rules.
If you’re in Los Angeles, be sure to check out the Chaplin retrospective on the big screen at The Silent Movie Theater thanks to The Cinefamily.
Chaplin Shorts: The Idle Class (1921)
Sep 2nd
To kick off an entire month of Chaplin films, I took in a double feature of 1921′s The Idle Class, a short pitting the Tramp against a doppelgänger of high society, and perhaps his most famous work City Lights (1931). The Cinefamily is running the entire Chaplin catalogue through the month of September, and decided to start things off with a bang!
Image from www.charliechaplin.com
A CLASS ABOVE THE REST
The Idle Class, a charming short from Chaplin’s days at First National. It was released the same year as Charlie’s breakthrough feature tragicomedy The Kid, and marked the decline of his days with the production company. Instead of providing First National with another hit like The Kid, Charlie churned out three short films instead, The Idle Class being amongst them.
In it, Charlie plays dual roles as his famous Tramp character, and a clueless upper-class husband to a lonely wife. The film opens with a train full of flagrant bourgeoisie – the women sporting minks, the men sporting a golf bag. After most of the aristocrats have departed, the Tramp awakens from a slumber in a luggage compartment from beneath the train – he also has his clubs and is ready to hit the links.
As per usual, the Tramp’s obliviousness entangles him in a web of confusions, misunderstandings, and hilarious shenanigans. On the links he makes enemies with fellow golfers when he accidentally hits their balls. Simultaneously, the troubled marriage of the Lonely Wife and clueless husband has taken on a life of its own. She refuses to be in the same room with her husband until he stops drinking. Naturally, his uncanny appearance to the Tramp sets up a slew of bits of mistaken identity.
There are quite a few themes in The Idle Class that Chaplin explored in some of his more substantial work. The case of mistaken identity and a look-alike plays an integral role in The Great Dictator, where Chaplin’s Jewish Barber gets mistaken for the Hitler-esque dictator. Another favorite subject of Chaplin was making buffoons of the wealthy. The Tramp’s low social status never dampers his nobility even in the grimmest of situations, while the resulting havoc usually shows the decline of civility among the upper-class. This shifting of social status allows the Tramp and the rich to meet somewhere in the middle of the social ladder.
AUDIENCE REACTION
There’s something heartwarming about watching a comedy that has been around and beloved for years on the big screen. So often we’re reserved to our couches with a plethora of distractions around us when we take in classic films at home. And when we take in the ‘new’ comedy in theaters on opening weekend there’s an inherent friction that comes from comprehending the events on screen for the first time.
In an audience who was there to see Chaplin out of shear love, who knew what to expect, and had no reservations expressing their love for the little fellow, an entirely different energy is created. The laughs are heartier. The smiles are tangible. It’s truly a warm feeling.
It occurred to me while watching Charlie do his thing, and listening to an audience so viscerally enjoying his work, that there’s no other time I’m happiest than when watching a Chaplin film.
WATCH THE FILM:
The Idle Class (1921) approximately 31 mins.
A Chaplin Retrospective
Sep 1st
If you live in Los Angeles and are a film enthusiast of any sort, you’ve no doubt heard of The Silent Movie Theater. They’ve provided a wonderful alternative to mainstream cinema, (what I call AMC cinema), by screening a plethora of underground cult classics, forgotten gems, and modern classics. In sticking to the roots of the theater itself, they have dedicated themselves to showing films of the silent era resiliently.
September marks an exciting time for The Cinefamily, who runs the programming of the theater, as they have decided to show the entire filmography of the greatest comedian and filmmaker of all time: Charlie Chaplin. Starting on September 1st, (that’s today!) they are screening a new print of City Lights with the charming short The Idle Class beginning at 8pm, and will continue through the month showing Chaplin’s silent films on Wednesday evenings and his ‘talkies’ on Saturday afternoons. Additionally, they’ve paired up a selective few of Chaplin’s features with the works of Jacques Tati for a knock-out double feature on Thursdays.
These are all new 35mm prints, and will no doubt knock your socks off. So if you have any love for the little Tramp, be sure to get your tickets early! You don’t want to miss this rare opportunity to see all of the films by Mr. Chaplin.
Also, in dedication to this wonderful month-long event, I will be hosting a Chaplin blog-a-thon where I will provide random musings and thoughts throughout the month coinciding with the films shown during the film-a-thon. The Tramp will be taking over the site for awhile…. sorry Keaton fans!
Top 10 Directorial Debuts of the 2000s
Aug 15th
There’s nothing more exciting than the potential of a fresh and exhilarating new director. Great talent usually takes many features to develop, but these directors stand out as crafting some of the most impacting, memorable, and extraordinary first-time feature length films. Some of these filmmakers we’ve already seen establish themselves into well respected and acclaimed directors, and others have yet to show us their next work.
This list is accumulated chronologically by the first feature length film helmed by the following directors, (it’s not by official theatrical release, which is why directors like Christopher Nolan and Edgar Wright aren’t on here.) The list will also be updated regularly, as these things are always in a constant state of changing.
David Gordon Green – George Washington (2000)
Over the last decade, David Gordon Green has shown an uncanny ability to paint an indescribable tone stemming from the confines of small towns. Sometimes nostalgic, sometimes tense, sometimes sweltering, sometimes sweet, Green’s ability to capture that je ne sais quoi is unparalleled, and it all started with the quiet storm that is George Washington.
1st Annual Hollywood Fantasy Draft
Jul 31st
We’re all familiar with the concept of Fantasy Football, whether we’ve participated or not. A group of sport fanatics get together, choose different players and build their teams to follow through the football season. Well, it was only a matter of time before a bunch of film fanatics got together and applied the same principals to movies. We all love to speculate over who might be cast in recently announced projects, and now a game has been made out of it!
This fabulous idea was brought to fruition by the geniuses over at Anomalous Material. The rules are simple:
• Twenty-some cinefiles are assigned a random number
• Round by round each blogger chooses a director and the stars to fill out their film
• After seven rounds, one director and six actors should be chosen
• No actors or directors can be picked twice
• Then, on the assigned date, the blogger pitches the movie that they’ve developed with their cast and crew.
The seven rounds have already occurred with a supplementary draft allowing for three additional actors for those who needed them.
On September 16th I shall be pitching my film. But in the meantime, here is the director and cast that I have assembled:
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“Quentin Tarantino.: The master of the homage is the [re]definition of cool. From his canon blast of a debut (Reservoir Dogs) to his creme de le creme (Pulp Fiction), and even his underrated gems (Jackie Brown, Deathproof) Tarantino has proved that he wholly deserving of the title ‘son of cinema’. Oh yeah, and I think he directed Inglourious Basterds and those Kill Bill films, but I’m not sure. I’ll have to do an IMDb check on that.” |
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“My first actor pick is none other than Chloe Moretz. Perhaps the youngest bona fide badass in the history of bona fide badassery. She KICKED ASS as Hit Girl. She, uh, provided the VOICE OF REASON in (500) Days of Summer. Soon she will suck your emotions dry in LET ME IN. Under the supervision of badass director Quentin Tarantino she’s going to be inducted into the hall of badass legends next to other badass icons. Plus, there’s that ‘acting’ thing that she’s pretty good at too.” |
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“Zoë Saldana. Fierce. Sexy. Hip. Cool. Talented. Beautiful. Tough. Rinse. Repeat.” |
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“Gandhi. Sexy Beast. Elegy. And everything in between. Sir Ben Kingsley is THE actor of our lifetime. Brando has nothing on this dude – a bold, but true statement. As a friend of mine once so aptly put it: “There could be a scene where multiple people are screaming and spouting off flamethrowers in the background, and you still wouldn’t be able to take your eyes off of Ben sitting quietly at the dinner table.”" |
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“Ken Watanabe. Because I need him more than he needs me. Because he’s perhaps one of the only international actors that projects enough confidence to go toe to toe with Ben Kingsley. Because his name is an anagram for “Wanna Be Take”. Yes, it’s true.” |
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“There are a number of things required by this Tarantinoian role: 1. The ability to deliver an over-the-top character with over-the-top lines without it coming off cartoony, 2. To have raw physical talent, 3. To pose a reckless menace. Tak Sakaguchi has these things in spades, as seen in his Japanese B-Movie career spanning from Versus to Tokyo Gore Police. Where better to find a Tarantinoian villain than Japanese B-Movies?” |
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““Staying true to the “Tarantino Touch”, I’m selectingMr. Kevin Bacon to be revitalized and made cool beyond novelty once again. His fearlessness to go to the dark side is amazing but well-balanced with a great sense of humor. Not to mention he works well within an ensemble AND can be connected to every actor in this Fantasy Draft within six degrees!”” |
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“I chooseth Mr. Method Man. I need someone with raw unabashed hipness that also has a sense of humor. His part is smaller, but definitely memorable.” |
Have You Seen This? (Scandinavian Edition)
Jul 23rd
International films have always played an interesting role in the American film market. They aren’t usually embraced by the majority of the nation, unless under the most extreme word of mouth or marketing. While I can only speak for my own time on this planet, I don’t feel like this was always the case. During the height of huge international directors like Truffaut, Kurosawa, Bergman, or countless other names, it seems like even if most American’s weren’t familiar with the films, they were familiar with the names. But most foreign and international films have always been subjected to art house releases, particularly in New York and Los Angeles with only select few making it to markets in each state’s Big City.
Understandably, subtitles are a bit laborious for viewers who are just looking for escapism. AMC Theaters provide a plethora of options for each week’s new releases, so why bother seeking out a film that will put you to work? Well, the independent and foreign market have some amazing pieces of art that should absolutely be seen at some point in your life. You can find any number of top 10, 100, or 1000 lists on the internet for suggestions. But a foreign market that greatly gets overlooked is Scandinavian cinema.
Outside of it’s one great master, Ingmar Bergman (and perhaps the master of all things cinema), most people might not know much about this territory’s films. Firstly, Scandinavia is kind of an amorphous location for most American’s. “It’s that one part of Europe that has those countries in it, right? It IS part of Europe, right? Is the Swiss part of it?” So it’s no real surprise that the films of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland (and Iceland) elude the general population of America.
But! There are a number of directors like Susanne Bier (who directed the 2004 film Brothers which the 2009 Jim Sheridan version was based on,) Lasse Halström (Academy Award winning director of Chocolat and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?), and the controversial Lars von Trier (Antichrist, Dancer in the Dark) who have been making films in both countries for years. And with the popularity of the Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest,) 2008′s Let the Right One In, and the novelty of the Nazi zombie film Dead Snow, Scandinavian films seem to be rising in popularity.
OSCAR SMACKDOWN: 2007 Best Picture
Jul 18th
The Oscar Smackdown takes a look at all five films that were nominated in a particular year and evaluated for their relevance in the category. After all five are examined, I’ve listed the film that has won and the film that I would’ve chose. The final thoughts at the bottom are a general overview of the category. The year in question will be the year that the films were released, not the “year” the ceremony was held. Links to longer articles can be found after each film.
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Atonement (2007)
The strongest thing that Atonement has going for it is its art direction which is often breathtaking. The lead performances from Keira Knightley and James McAvoy are very commendable, but it’s Saoirse Ronan who steals the show as the jealous younger sister to Knightley. As far as the script and film as a whole, it’s rather underwhelming and hinges upon an ending that no doubt divides audiences. It’s a worthy film, but a very predictable choice for a Best Picture nominee, which contributes to the fact that it doesn’t stand apart from the typical overly dramatic nominees of the past. |
