Double Bill: Tarantino Through Other Eyes

True Romance and From Dusk Till Dawn

The Room (2003)

Johnny (Tommy Wiseau) seems to have it all: a great apartment, a great job and a girlfriend (Juliette Danielle) who is "so beautiful". But can he trust her?

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Here at This Cinematic Life, we believe in championing minority voices in film. Outsiders are important because they have a different perspective on things. Black filmmakers see things that white filmmakers don't. Females see what men ignore. Well for my money, you cannot get much more "outsider" than Tommy Wiseau. And with how secretive he likes to be about his past, a strong case could even be made that he is in fact an alien from outer space! Perhaps this film is his attempt to understand why humans do the things we do? Viewed from this perspective, the film becomes a rather poignant story about an alien looking for love, who finds only cruelty. But who am I kidding? Wiseau is as human as the rest of us, and this film is hilarious.

Listening to A Little Princess (1995)

I can't believe I haven't given this one a proper write-up yet, as it's one of my favorite films ever! But today I'm just inviting you to take a listen to the score, with original music by Patrick Doyle.

The film is about a little girl raised in India, who is sent to a boarding school in New York during World War I. The score naturally is inspired by the sounds of India (such as sitar) as well as the prim and proper world of her boarding school, and when you hear the music you immediately get the feeling of being in two worlds.

The whole soundtrack is beautiful, but there's a special place in my heart for the song "Kindle My Heart". It's so youthful and spiritual, and I admit to getting a little misty when I hear it. I love it so much, in fact, that at my wedding I walked down the aisle to a piano rendition of the song.





I can't wait to hear Patrick Doyle's upcoming score for Pixar's Brave! In the meantime, we have his previous film scores to enjoy. Happy listening!

Magnolia (1999)

Several melodramatic stories all come crashing together on one particularly interesting day in the San Fernando Valley.

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Film students and critics love to make a big deal about the "showy" moments in this movie. They go on about the long takes, the prologue, the hidden 82s, the narration, the sing-a-long and the frogs. It's kind of hard not to. And with an epic run-time of 188 minutes, there is no shortage of "showy" acting as well. Not a single moment comes easy. People hurt and people get hurt. Every single character is an exposed raw nerve. So yeah, there is a lot to chew on in this film both emotionally and aesthetically. But I think what brings people back again and again is actually something rather simple. They just like the reassuring message that no matter how bad things get, the rain will eventually stop...when you wise up.

Lover Come Back (1961)

Uptight Carol Templeton (Doris Day) and the slick Jerry Webster (Rock Hudson) work for rival advertising agencies. Carol's pissed that Jerry is using booze and women and other somewhat immoral ways to secure clients, so she goes after him and his business. Add a redheaded southern minx, mistaken identities, lots of terrible hats, and a mystery product called "VIP", and you've got yourself a movie!

Is the plot ridiculous? Absolutely. But it's also a lot of fun. Even though I secretly want Doris Day (or at least her characters) to fall into a deep hole, I enjoy the films they made together because they're goofy, colorful, and campy as hell. Another big reason I enjoy this film is because it co-stars Tony Randall, who I absolutely adore, as Webster's neurotic boss Peter Ramsey.

So give it a go if you're in a silly sixties mood, and don't forget your VIP!

And the nominees are...

January and February are notoriously shitty months for movies. March too. The films released in these months are all just placeholders to tide us over until the summer blockbuster season. This is the time of year when crap like Wild Hogs and Old Dogs gets dumped in our laps. Mercifully the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have chosen to once again extend an olive branch to all the Cinema Nerds out there by announcing their 2011 Oscar Nominees!

Opinions on the Nominees:
(Disclaimer: These are my opinions, apologies in advance if they're bitchy)

-First thought: Yawn!

-Really happy to see Hugo get more nominations than The Artist. I know The Artist was cute and silent, but seriously? Best EVERYTHING?

-Glad to see The Tree of Life get best picture and director love. Don't really understand how or why Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and War Horse got best picture picks.  Both had been pretty written off, but I guess they have powerful people pulling for them. Would have liked to have seen a film as dark as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo up for a golden statue.

-The Best Director nominees are pretty impeccable. Part of me wishes David Fincher had been included, but mostly I just wish he would have won last year.

-Pleased to see Gary Oldman up for Actor but it's probably going to be between the two Ocean's guys.

-Props to Brad since he's up for both Lead and Supporting!

-Best actress might be the tightest race. Real people, gender-bending, civil rights and rape.

-Pleased to see Jonah Hill up for an Oscar, would rather see Albert Brooks though...

-FUCK YEAH MELISSA MCARTHY!

-FUCK YEAH KRISTIN WIIG!

-No Tin Tin for animated? And what are these other two nominees? At least they aren't Cars 2...

-Thought this would be the year that I saw multiple Best Documentary Nominees before the announcement (Senna and Bill Cunningham New York) only to have it be yet another year where I've seen none.

-Best Cinematography and Editing are pretty damn tight races.

-Wow! A Roland Emmerich film up for something other than special effects (Anonymous up for Costumes)

-John Williams v. John Williams

-Only 2 Best Song nominees? Just hand it to the Muppet guys right now...

-Woo hoo a nomination for Drive!...for Best Sound Editing. Probably won't win. Hopefully won't lose to Transformers...

-And lastly...would've liked to have seen Beginners get an Original Screenplay nod...

So rather than sit through Underworld: Awakening or Joyful Noise, why not go and play catch up with all the wonderful films you missed last year? Some of them are even out on DVD and Netflix Instant already! And when you're done with all the nominees, start watching some of the movies we've written about on this here blog, cause really, there are PLENTY of great films to watch before it's time to give Joyful Noise a spin.

Beginners (2011)

Oliver Fields (Ewan McGregor) is coping with the death of his father Hal (Christopher Plummer), who recently came out of the closet and lived the last years of his life with a happy outlook and renewed sense of self. He meets French actress Anna (Melanie Laurent) and the two commitment-phobes try to make a relationship together work.

I just saw this film for the first time yesterday, and I loved it. It's very touching and sweet, and the leading actors are fantastic (I'd like to see Christopher Plummer get an Oscar nomination, if not take the thing home!). The film travels back and forth in time, from his time as a child observing his parents' distant relationship, to the present with his relationship with Anna, to his father's new life and final moments. The struggle to sort out not only your own baggage but that of your family's is something I'm sure a lot of audience members can relate to. And above all else, the film teaches us that it's never too late to live the life you want.

Forgot to mention Arthur the dog! Jack Russell terriers are making quite the splash in films lately (see "The Artist"), and this one steals the show as the loyal dog that, in his own way, helps Oliver figure it all out.

Happy viewing!

Double Bill: Marfa Texas Duo

No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood

The Party (1968)

A bumbling Indian actor (Peter Sellers) is mistakenly invited to a ritzy party and chaos ensues.

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After the uproar over Mickey Rooney's racist portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's, you'd think director Blake Edwards might be inclined to shy away from casting white actors in ethnic roles. Instead, Edwards doubled-down and made a brown-faced Peter Sellers the focus of an entire movie! But, mind you, this is not your average movie. What begins as a slightly better than average studio comedy designed for middle-aged conservative audiences, gradually evolves into a celebration of uninhibited fun and youth. And it is amid this chaos that Seller's Hrundi V. Bakshi is finally able to become liberated as well. He even gets himself a girl! This is the entire decade of 1960s cinema condensed into one film. By the end, you find yourself in a completely different film than the one in which you began. But don't question. Just enjoy the party!

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)

I have a few years before I'm ready for my 10 year high school reunion, but I'll bet it won't be as awesomely hilarious as the reunion in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion! Romy (Mira Sorvino) and Michele (Lisa Kudrow) are best friends who live together in LA, and are excited to find out about their 10 year high school reunion in Tuscon. In order to impress their former classmates, the pair decides to pretend to be businesswomen (who invented Post-its), and hilarity ensues. By taking a stroll through memory lane and confronting their past and present issues, Romy and Michele learn to live their own lives, stand up for themselves, and have a blast.

I love this movie! It's silly and fun, and super quoteable. All of the high school stereotypes are present and accounted for, including the "A group" (aka the bitchy popular crowd) and the nerds (Alan Cumming and the delightfully cynical Janeane Garofalo). Some of them have changed in the last ten years, and some are exactly the same. Romy and Michele march to the beat of their own drum.

This movie has some hilarious moments...Romy boyfriend hunting, Michele somehow knowing the recipe to glue, their wonderful dance at the end. Sorvino and Kudrow are great together, and very convincing as best friends. Watching them slow dance together at their prom, both dressed as Madonna, is oddly touching. Who's to say who's the Mary and who's the Rhoda? Anyone who went to high school can surely find something to relate to in this film. At some point, we all felt we weren't cool enough, or attractive enough, and maybe we bullied or were bullied. The point is, high school is NOT "the best years of your life" and everyone is capable of reinventing themselves. This film explores that in the funniest way possible.

Happy viewing, and don't forget to bring your yearbook!

The Social Network (2010)

Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) invents Facebook which results in countless lawsuits and ruined friendships.

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It's been a little over a year since The Social Network first entered our cinematic consciousness. And since there are no more awards to be courted, perhaps now we can really look at this film for what it is without all the hyperbole of it being a film that "defined a generation". This isn't a film about "how technology is winning the battle against actual human contact, creating a nation of narcissists shaping their own reality like a Facebook page." The technology is inconsequential. Simply put, this is a story about children desperately trying to be adults, and the damage this can do to one's soul. Long after Facebook has shuffled loose the digital coil, this film will still be relevant, because it is about people.

Auntie Mame (1958)

Craig was asking me the other day why I haven't written about Auntie Mame yet. After all, it's my favorite movie ever! I was putting it off because I didn't know what to say other than "OMG THIS MOVIE IS THE BEST EVER!!" But I thought I'd give it a try anyways.

When young Patrick's father suddenly dies, he is sent to live with his aunt Mame Dennis (Rosalind Russell). Mame is eccentric, vivacious, and pretty awesome. The film follows her life through her devotion to her nephew, romantic interludes, and everything in between.

So why do I love this film so much? It's hilarious! Rosalind Russell is fantastic, and the supporting cast is pretty great too. From the awkwardly nerdy secretary Agnes Gooch to the insufferably snobby Upsons, this film does not lack in colorful characters. And the dialogue! Rosalind Russell can deliver one-liners at breakneck speed like nobody else. The sets are gorgeous, the scenes end in fade-to-black so it feels like you're watching a play, and, once again, it's so so funny. I quote this movie all the time, and let's not forget the movie's famous bit of wisdom: Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!



Happy viewing, and eat up!

L.A. Confidential (1997)

Three cops (Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe and Kevin Spacey) are investigating murder, vice and corruption in 1950s Los Angeles.

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I saw L.A. Confidential long before I ever read a James Ellroy novel. Having now become very familiar with the author and having read four of his novels, I can accurately say that the film of L.A. Confidential bares only a passing resemblance to the cynical, brutally violent, racist universe that runs through his work. But I can also accurately say that L.A. Confidential is an amazing piece of cinema! No novel has ever made it to the screen 100% intact. It's pointless to judge the movie against the book. A movie shouldn't ever be able to  tarnish your love of a book and vice versa. A book is a book and a movie is a movie. Judge each on it's own terms.

Double Bill: Parlo degli inglesi molto bene!

Blow-Up and Zabriskie Point

Listening to E.T. (1982)

I thought I'd start a regular feature on Cinema Nerds to briefly take a look at some memorable (aka my favorite :P) film scores. I'm no music critic by any means, and can't (and don't want to) point out different instruments or forms or any of that. I merely want to invite you to stop and listen. Today's score is that of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), original music by John Williams.

John Williams is the man. He's been nominated for 45 (45!!) Academy Awards and he's famous for a reason. This is probably not the first nor will it be the last time I gush about his work. I know in some circles he's overrated, but I'm a big fan, I can't help it!

E.T. isn't necessarily my favorite film, but there's something so gorgeous and iconic about this score. It lifts you up, and if you've seen the film, just listening to it makes you picture bicycles soaring over the trees. For me personally, just listening to this music reminds me why I love film so much.

North By Northwest (1959)

Following a case of mistaken identity, Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) finds himself on the run from very bad men!

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Boy did Alfred Hitchcock have guilt issues! So many of his plots center on a protagonist being pursued for a crime they did not commit. The Man Who Knew Too Much (both versions), The 39 Steps, The Wrong Man, Frenzy and the masterpiece of this sub-genre: North By Northwest. Make sure you set aside time to watch this one, once the plot get's rolling - it is impossible to turn this movie off. I'm serious! It's a guilt-powered bullet-train barreling straight towards Mount Rushmore. Thank God Hitch was raised Catholic!

Make it a Catholic Guilt Double Feature and watch this film alongside Scorsese's After Hours! Or if Jewish guilt is more your speed, try pairing it with A Serious Man!

The Lion King (1994)

I know, I know, I know. This is one of the most beloved animated films of all time, and in no way requires a review. I don't even need to remind any of you how awesome this film is. I got this film on Blu-ray for Christmas and thought I'd give it a little shout-out.

From the Hamlet-inspired storyline to the amazing vocal performances (James Earl Jones and Jeremy Irons, especially), Elton John's memorable songs and the gorgeous animation, this film (and Beauty and the Beast) is basically a cinematic trophy acknowledging Disney's comeback in the 90s. We grew up with it, we love it, it's a great movie, plain and simple.

And who doesn't LOVE that intro? It still gives me goosebumps!



Happy viewing!

A Serious Man (2009)

Larry Gopnick (Michael Stuhlbarg) is going through a personal crisis. His wife wants a divorce, someone is writing critical letters about him to the tenure committee, his kids are apathetic and the local rabbis are little help.

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As much as I love The Big Lebowski, No Country For Old Men and Fargo, I think this film might be the Coen Brothers' masterpiece. It does everything that a film from the Coens is supposed to do (it's beautifully shot, darkly funny and thought provoking) AND it accomplishes all of this without their usual safety-net of genre conventions. It's not a western, there are no spies or gangsters, and the amount violent death is kept to a minimum. This the Coen Universe stripped to it's bare essence: Man v. God. And though we already know going in who will win, it's still makes for one heck of a fun battle.

Double Bill: Cabin Fever

Black Narcissus and The Shining

The Artist (2011)

Craig and I saw this last night...after seeing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo the day before, we needed something a big more lighthearted! I'm a big silent film fan and I had high hopes for this one.

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a hot shot silent film star, whose arrogance and resistance to change find him struggling when sound pictures start becoming popular. Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) is an up-and-comer who works her way to stardom. And Uggie plays Valentin's dog, who is the cutest dog ever.

The film borrows heavily from its inspirations (Valentin is sooo Don Lockwood at the start of the movie), even directly lifting scores from other films (Vertigo? Whaaa?) but it doesn't keep it from being an enjoyable experience. This isn't high art by any means, but Bejo is gorgeous, it's visually interesting, it has a lightness to it even in its dark moments, and it's fun! I'm assuming many of the people seeing this are silent film fans to some extent, but I'd like to think that some people seeing the film maybe aren't so familiar with the genre and will seek out some original silent films on Netflix or elsewhere. It's true that we won't see the likes of the original greats again, but I welcome any attempt to bring the magic back!

Happy viewing!

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966)

Three tough bastards (Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef) are all on the trail of a buried fortune while the Civil War rages around them.

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Seeing this movie at The Egyptian for my 21st birthday is easily one of the top 10 greatest moments in my life. I don't care that most of my friends fell asleep, my eyes were glued to the screen for every frame. Yeah it's long, but that's the point. This is the Western elevated to the level of Opera. Everything about this movie is BIG and LOUD. BIG characters, BIG emotions, BIG music viewed on a BIG screen with the volume cranked all the way to 11. There's a reason Metallica opens their live shows with this song:

Almost Famous (2000)

Follow the exploits of Rolling Stone journalist William Miller (Patrick Fugit) as he follows a hard partying rock band on their latest tour. Did I mention that William is still in high school?

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In the hands of some other filmmaker, this movie would have been yet another exploration of that old Nietzche quote about staring into the abyss. It would have been about the corruption of William Miller. About how he was never able to love again or trust people again or something else cynical. But that's just not who Cameron Crowe is. And lest we forget: this film is his life. He lived through the experiences dramatized here and came out the other side an affable, polite and easygoing guy. His life and his film are a testaments to that final line from Woody Allen's Manhattan: "Not everybody gets corrupted. You have to have a little faith in people."

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

It's become something of a New Year's tradition for me to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's in the morning hours on the first of the year. I'm not sure how this tradition got started, but it's one I really enjoy. It's nice to start off the year with a heavy dose of cinema style.

Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) is a call girl who befriends struggling writer Paul Varjak (George Peppard) when he moves into her building. She's a dazzling and intriguing character, and naturally, he falls for her. Who wouldn't? This film is iconic in so many ways: Holly looking in the windows of Tiffany's in the early morning hours, that hair, that dress, those sunglasses, "Moon River", the nameless cat, the bathtub couch, that sleep mask, the party scene, Mickey Rooney's cringeworthy scenes as Mr. Yunioshi (ouch!), the kiss in the rain, the list goes on and on.

This movie is currently streamable on Netflix, and very much worth a revisit. Audrey Hepburn and Patricia Neal are the chicest ladies around, the music is incredibly cool, and ultimately it's a lovely little film. For superfans I highly recommend the book Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. about the making of the film!

Happy viewing, and don't forget your danish!

Double Bill: Just Visiting

Mystery Train and Barton Fink

The 12 Months of Kubrick

If we are to believe the ancient Mayans and Roland Emmerich, the world is going to be ending in less than 365 days. With the apocalypse so close at hand it is time to reevaluate. It is time to decide what really matters and make every minute count. Seeing as we are Cinema Nerds, we have decided to dedicate 1,549 of those minutes to watching the films of Stanley Kubrick - one last time.

Watched end to end this feat could be accomplished in a little over a day. But where's the fun in that? It'd be over far too quickly. With doomsday looming, our focus should be on stretching things out and making them last. Thus we have decided to watch exactly one movie a month.

Jaunary - Killer's Kiss
February - The Killing
March - Paths of Glory
April - Spartacus
May - Lolita
June - Dr. Strangelove
July - 2001: A Space Odyssey
August - A Clockwork Orange
September - Barry Lyndon
October - The Shining
November - Full Metal Jacket
December - Eyes Wide Shut


12 films, 12 months! His filmography (minus Fear and Desire) fits the Gregorian Calendar like a glove! So let's learn to stop worrying and make this the best countdown to Armageddon EVER! And remember...