Random 10: Random Films for Comment - Week 2 (with a bonus ten included!)

"Aren't you Anette bennning?"

2295. The Journey of Natty Gann, 1985 (dir. Jeremy Paul Kagan)

I namedrop this every now and again; mostly in reference to how often it was show on the Disney Channel in the 80's; also in reference to its referencing in an episode of The Golden Girls.

Clean and Sober - massively underrated film; includes great work by Kathy Baker and Morgan Freeman. Oh, and perhaps the best work ever by Michael Keaton (please remit the snarky Batman comments...I don't give a shit). A really moving film, that tends not to do too much pandering, while giving a human face to addiction. It does occasionally stray into 80's cliche arena, but overall is totally worth the viewing.

Valmont - it's not Frears's Dangerous Liaisons, which I adore. But that isn't a bad thing, either. Sticks (I'm told) much closer to the novel. Ominously casts Jeffrey Jones in the role of a middle aged man about to marry a 13 year old. (And this might have been his first role in which he has some really obvious girth issues, too, if anyone cares to know...I mean, he ain't Ed Rooney anymore.) Some creative casting, including Henry Thomas, Fairuza Balk, Colin Firth, Annette Benning, Sian Phillips, Meg Tilly...most of these people before they were more famous ('cept Thomas and Phillips). More of a romp in the country, playful type film instead of the cold and malicious - and thoroughly enjoyable - Dangerous Liaisons. It has its clumsy moments, but definitely worth at least a peek by anyone vaguely interested.

"Yes, I am. Don't I look wonderful now - I just had a plastic surgeon reposition one of my "n"s."

How did Michael Caine achieve a level of cultdom in the UK whilst making a dent of no impression in so many other countries?

I remember how odd it supposedly was for Michael Keaton to act in a DRAMA. After Mr. Mom and Nightshift, folks would read the synopsis of this film and think, "Well, that doesn't seem very amusing."

Also, Glenn Gordon Caron was the guy behind "Moonlighting", so he also probably had to go through the whole "Will Michael Keaton be singing Isley Brothers songs in this?" thing, too.

Michael Caine has always annoyed the hell out of me for some reason. I really couldn't tell you why.

i'd love to see this, i've got the soundtrack album and nearly every track is solid gold.

I enjoyed this film. The bit where they are cutting from one department to another was great. Very sad film, yet quite heart-warming at the same time. The wake dragged a little, and I loved the way all the guys from the office vowed to change, but by the next day they were the same as usual.

is Get Carter actually good?

Ikiru - very nice, kind of shows kurosawa's limitations tho. the 'poetry' is a bit blunt, but that's also part of its charm
i suppose.

The Trial -- was lucky enough to see this on a very large screen and it was wonderful. im a huge fan of the book, and i think the movie is no slouch in comparison. the visual scheme of the film is probably my permanent mental picture for the book.

Their seemed to be far too much calmness amongst the people for whom death was certain. Their were some moments of effective bleakness. Ultimately, the movie strangely avoids commenting on the politics of the arms race. Either they were too caught up in the anti-communism of the cold war to express rage or maybe the feeling of powerlessness prevents one from knowing what to do with the fear of nuclear holocaust.

Um, the last scene of ON THE BEACH was a huge painted poster, "IT'S NOT TOO LATE!" or something saccharine, wasn't it? I loved it; a wonderful apocalypse film. It's one of my very favourite genres; search THREADS, oh god.

3561. Rite of Spring, 1963 (dir. Manoel de Oliveira)

i haven't seen this, but it's usually cited as either (a) the first of oliveira's "late" features to use an overtly theatrical mise en scene or (b) a transitional feature (apparently he set out to make a documentary of a putting on of a passion play in rural portugal and wound up filming the play itself as the film, with the "putting on" aspect in the margins) between his earlier psuedo-neorealist features and the later ones. i'd love to see this. stills i've seen from it look ravishing.

3147. On the Beach, 1959 (dir. Stanley Kramer)

usually dismissed as a ham-handed self-serious liberal "message" movie. i actually think the movie is quite a bit weirder and more distrubing than that, but it still isn't very good.

3277. Pepe le moko, 1937 (dir. Julien Duvivier)

this is excellent. a quintessential poetic-realism film with the archetypal poetic realism actor, gabin. the sets, recreating algiers, are phenomenal. but like a lot of genres once you've seen a lot of this kind of thing the tropes begin to grate. the two leads of this film reprised very similar roles in an even better and more surprising movie, jean gremillon's "gueule d'amour."

3659. Sammy Going South, 1963 (dir. Alexander Mackendrick)

i love several of mackendrick's other features, and his book on directing is fab. i've heard great things about this one but it's very hard to see. if you can, rent mandy.

2156. Ikiru, 1952 (dir. Akira Kurosawa)

this is awesome. a very strangely constructed film. structured almost like a dialectical argument. very moving.

2295. The Journey of Natty Gann, 1985 (dir. Jeremy Paul Kagan)

god, i saw this ages ago and liked it (as a kid). remember nothing except something about hobos on a train.

4361. The Trial, 1963 (dir. Orson Welles)

pretty kitschy. i didn't get a lot out of this one. though tony perkins was an inspired bit of casting.

no no not the soft core porn epic w/ringo starr et al.

Whatever you want, man. I just want to more or less randomly dig up films and see what happens. Sometimes I watch things on hearing something good. Maybe we'll get into a debate about one of the films.

Get Carter, Ikiru, The Trial--all fine films that I haven't seen in years and years.

I never bothered with On the Beach, dunno why. Likewise Valmont and Clean and Sober.

Every time I hear the title of Natty Gann, I associate it in my head with some half-forgotten Mystery Science Theater 3000 joke, which if it wasn't it shoulda been.

Random 10: Random Films for Comment - Week 13