Galaxy Quest (1999)

Galaxy Quest is the story of a bunch of out-of-work stars of a once popular sci-fi show who get plucked from their appearance at a convention to go on a real space adventure.  This adventure involves actual aliens who based their whole federation on transmissions of the "Galaxy Quest" broadcasts, and the actors must live out the roles they once played on TV. A lot of the humor comes from referencing the well-known tropes of "Star Trek: The Original Series". This film really succeeds in that it is more than a simple spoof of Star Trek; it is also a love letter to it. This really surprised me when it came out. It seemed we were starting to see films that were more self-aware of their subjects (Scream, Austin Powers), and were even deconstructing them as we approached the end of the 90's. 

By starting the film off with our heroes as down-on-their-luck losers, this film easily could have relied on cynical humor about how washed up the cast was. This film, however, set its sights a little higher as it has a huge love for not only the cast's roles within the show and what their lives are like off-screen, but how much they mean to the fans. Fandom itself is a funny and integral part of the story, with a group of Trekkie-type fanboys using their vast knowledge of the show to help the crew out on their journey. Though full of laughs, these scenes never succumb to condescension or simple "nerds-are-lame" shtick,  and instead we feel just as rewarded as these geeks do when they find out that their favorite sci-fi show is real. This sweetness is all the more impressive since this film predates the geek-chic movement in pop culture of the 21st century. It was a truly pleasant surprise upon release to experience a film that not only joyfully mocked its subject, but also had such an obvious fondness for it. The Celebratory Comedy's (a sub-sub-genre I sort of made up) spirit would later be found in films like Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead (and even Paul). This film certainly falls in line with what those modern classics did to their subjects: a little poke in the ribs, wrapped in a big reverent hug.

'Becca'lise's Top 28

Today I am 28.

To celebrate, I'm sharing 28 of my favorite films! If you're a friend of mine, I'm sure I've made you watch quite a few of these. Some are classics, some are lesser known gems, but all are great.

1. Auntie Mame

2. Amadeus

3. Rosemary's Baby

4. The Royal Tenenbaums

5. Young Frankenstein

6. A Mighty Wind

7. The Shining

8. Amelie

9. The Women

10. A Little Princess

11. Some Like it Hot

12. Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (cheating!)

13. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

14. Breakfast at Tiffany's

15. Midnight in Paris

16. The Man Who Came to Dinner

17. Libeled Lady

18. The Birds

19. Star Wars: A New Hope

20. Mary Poppins

21. The Wizard of Oz

22. Fantasia 

23. When Harry Met Sally...

24. West Side Story

25. The Graduate

26. Jesus Christ Superstar

27. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

28. Miracle on 34th Street

Watch one for me, okay? Enjoy!

Double-Bill: Childhood Surreality

Amarcord and The Dance of Reality

Contagion (2011)

As much as I love Steven Soderbergh, I've always found his style to be rather clinical. Like Stanley Kubrick and David Fincher, his camera is always deliberately placed as though pages of calculations were necessary to pick its precise lens and location. Nowhere has this technique better served him than in Contagion. By simply keeping his camera steady and lingering on various surfaces, he is able to transform the mundane into the horrific. Suddenly a door handle can instill as much dread in an audience as seeing the shark-fin in Jaws. And by carefully limiting the film’s scope to a select group of characters and those whom they interact with, the film’s structure becomes literally viral. We start with one character (Gwyneth Paltrow) and thanks to a few coughs and handshakes, the whole world is at stake within mere minutes. All of the death, violence and mistrust ripples out from there. Yet despite the horrors and Soderbergh’s clinically deliberate style, this isn't a film about how horrible humanity can be. Thanks to Scott Z. Burns’ well researched and immensely compassionate screenplay, it instead comes to serve as a testament to how resoundingly humanity can rally in the face of adversity. Yes people are capable of horribly harmful and selfish things, but they are also equally capable of immensely altruistic acts as well. I wish Soderbergh wasn't “retired” so that we might get to witness the continued flowering of this awesome pairing of writer and director.

Friday Quote: Platoon

"Maybe I finally found it, way down here in the mud. Maybe from down here I can start up again. Be something I can be proud of without having to fake it, be a fake human being."

Platoon (1986)

Monsoon Wedding (2001)

This was another movie sitting on our shelf that I hadn't quite gotten around to watching. So we had friends over, made a big batch of aloo gobi, and popped this in. It was amazing! Monsoon Wedding tells the story of a family coming together from all over the world to celebrate the prearranged wedding of Aditi, a somewhat reluctant bride who recently ended an affair with a married man. We get to know the hopelessly romantic wedding planner, the stressed out father, the sweet and shy maid, the flamboyant brother, and many more colorful characters. I was especially impressed with Shefali Shetty as cousin Ria, a loving and protective woman harboring secret pain from the past. This film isn't unlike My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but it's much richer, and isn't afraid to explore the darkness as well as the light. The acting is great, and the music and cinematography work together to create a truly sumptuous film. There's a scene where the bride is having henna done on her hands before the wedding, and everyone is singing and clapping...it's beautiful. Definitely a cinematic experience to remember.

Gift Idea: Hollywood Sketchbook: A Century of Costume Illustration

I first spotted this book at a bookstore in Hollywood when we were up there for the TCM Film Festival. I immediately added it to my Amazon wishlist and crossed my fingers. Just received it as an early birthday present, and I loooove it. It's a huge and gorgeous coffee table book chock-full of stunning costume illustrations by a talented array of illustrators and designers. Any film fan who's especially drawn to costuming should pick this up! They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I took a few! Enjoy!

Double-Bill: Epidemics

Traffic and Contagion

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

There's something comforting/inspiring about revisiting the first film of a favorite director. The distance of time grants a whole new perspective on things. You get to see and appreciate what will eventually become recurring images and themes back when they were in their raw and rough infancy. You also get to notice all of the amateurish stuff. You notice when a technique they appropriated from another filmmaker doesn't quite land. You can also tell when something is deliberately put in there as a "shout out" to a friend and can chuckle at some of the naive attempts at being deep.

Famously, Stanley Kubrick was so embarrassed by the amateurishness of his first film that he successfully suppressed it from exhibition for the rest of his life. As if the mere existence of Fear and Desire would somehow cause people to suddenly write off his later masterpieces. So what if your first film isn't Citizen Kane? A flawed early film allows viewers, critics and film students to see that even great artists started out small. Let's not forget that at its root, the word "amateur" means "lover of". Here's to the amateurs!

Friday Quote: The Graduate

"It's like I was playing some kind of game, but the rules don't make any sense to me. They're being made up by all the wrong people. I mean no one makes them up. They seem to make themselves up."

The Graduate (1967)

Friday Quote: Mommie Dearest

"NO WIRE HANGERS....EVER!!!!"

Mommie Dearest (1981)

Happy Mother's Day!

Il Sorpasso (1962)

I think this might be the ultimate Craig Duffy film. I’m pretty sure that I was genetically predisposed to like this film. In terms of the things I respond to in cinema, Il Sorpasso checks all the boxes. It’s a road movie that luxuriates in the settings and side characters, it expertly balances comedy and drama, it features a passive main character who is propelled along by a charismatic rascal, the pop songs are expertly placed and the photography is beautiful. The fact that it’s set in Italy during that La Dolce Vita/L’Avventura period where modernity was rapidly eclipsing the old world only serves as icing on the cake. Is it coincidence that Alexander Payne saw this film shortly before he directed Sideways which propelled him into my personal pantheon of favorite working directors? Seriously, if you were to take several of my favorite films and make a collage of them, it would look like Il Sorpasso. I can’t believe it took me so long to discover this film. God bless Criterion for bringing this film to my attention and giving it such a loving treatment. Highly recommended!

Double-Bill: Detours

Il Sorpasso and Y Tu Mamá También

Only Lovers Left Alive (2014)

Jim Jarmusch has been cool since forever. Though he's never been huge, he's also never been passé. And most importantly he's always been, "cool". While other flavors have come and gone over the last thirty years, Jim has remained. He's never followed trends (or set them) he's just been himself and done his own thing. Wikipedia says that he's 61, but his hair has been white since forever. I guess what I'm really saying is that Jim is eternal. Which is precisely why Only Lovers Left Alive was a perfect choice of project for him. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he outlived us all. And though his films have always been clear expressions of his interests and obsessions, I feel certain that this is the first Jarmusch film one could truly describe as, "personal". He has seen eras come and go. He has lost numerous friends and contemporaries. He has also consumed culture voraciously. This film might not be a masterpiece, but it sure is a great hang. I could spend all night with these learned bloodsuckers because they know all the coolest shit. Just gotta steer clear of the ones that choose to live in LA apparently...

Friday Quote: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

"I'm through with taking falls/I'm bouncing off the walls/Without that gun/I'd have some fun/I'd kick you in the..."
"Nose!"

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Under The Skin (2014)

In screenwriting classes you're taught that the first fifteen pages are very important. This is where you set up your world. You let your audience know what the rules are and what to expect from the rest of the film. The same is true of a film's visual and aural aesthetics. By beginning this film with zero dialogue, director Jonathan Glazer is conditioning his audience to rely on their inborn ability to comprehend visual and aural cues rather than falling back on the old crutch of having to spoon-feed them everything through clunky dialogue. But don't worry, if you're really watching this film you will absolutely, "get it". Sure you may have some questions, but questions are good. Talk about them with a friend. The best films are the ones worth talking about and I plan on talking about this one for quite some time.