Young Frankenstein/Blazing Saddles
August
ended on a tragic note—as every month of 2016 seems to do—with the death of
comic legend Gene Wilder, which ultimately leads to a bittersweet beginning of
September with a re-introduction to two of his funniest comedies. In Young Frankenstein Gene Wilder plays
Frederick Frohnkensteen, a passionate and childishly mad scientist who becomes
obsessed with late grandfather’s work after inheriting his fortune and castle. This
film shows Wilder’s brilliance as a comic actor as he shouts lines like “My grandfather’s
work was doo-doo” with an forceful command that not even Laurence Olivier could
pull off. Nobody really plays a comic role like Wilder anymore; he hardly
relied on mugging or improvising one-liners until the camera stopped. He would
disappear into his role like a method actor, embracing the absurdity of the
heightened world he traveled in, which makes moments like when he stabs his
knee. Certain elements of Young
Frankenstein do not age well (the scene when the Creature meets Madeline
Kahn is irksome) but it is a masterful showcase of Wilder’s masterful comic
acting.
Blazing Saddles on the other hand has
aged surprisingly well. It is a defiant satire that rips on the racist themes
of the Western genre and Hollywood filmmaking as a whole with brilliant simplicity.
Blazing Saddles only features Gene
Wilder in a secondary capacity but no less a hilarious and valuable part of an
already legendary cast of comedians.
With actors like Cleavon Little, Madeline Kahn, Slim Pickens and Harvey
Korman—plus Richard Pryor and Mel Brooks—Blazing
Saddles seems like a time capsule 1970s comedy scene but it still feels
relevant today.
Cemetary of Splendour
From
the Taiwanese director Apichatpong “Joe” Weerasethakul, Cemetery of Splendor is a drama—of sorts—about a sleeping epidemic
that has afflicted the soldier in a contemporary rural village. At first the
film focuses on an elderly woman, and relationship with an afflicted soldier
and a seer who can communicate with the sleepers. Beyond that however, the
mystery evolves into a mood piece of psycho-surrealism. The film is a visual
riddle, subtler than films like Under The
Skin and Embrace of the Serpent
but more than capable of messing the mind. Like a new spot on the skin, Cemetery of Splendour is inscrutable and haunting
enough to be unforgettable.
Rachel Getting Married
Anne
Hathaway stars as Kim, the mentally unstable sister of Rachel, who is given a couple
days leave from her clinic to attend her sister’s wedding. However this is not My Big Fat Greek Wedding, this film is a
raw affair about a family that is trying miserably to hide the cracks of their
foundation as personal grudges and tragedies are revealed. It is a solid drama
that showcases Anne Hathaway’s powerful range and spontaneity; however, the
film fumbles hard when it actually showcases the wedding, which is an overlong
mess that seems more appropriate in a Baz Luhrmann musical than a neo-realist
drama.
Kuroneko
A 1950s
Japanese Heian period horror film about two women whose souls return as vengeful
black cat demons after being raped and murdered by samurai warriors. This film is
certainly haunting and atmospheric but its brutal criticism of samurai culture
is film is what makes this film so fascinating. From the very beginning Kuroneko portrays samurai as barbarians
who exploit their social status to rape and pillage people whom they were
suppose to protect. As the film continues, it reveals how this exploitation is systemic;
their honor code is so powerful, that it blinds them of their own inhumanity
they cause. Kuroneko is both a
cathartic and poetic exercise of revenge but also an allegory about systemic
exploitation, which is sadly still relevant to this day.
Only Angels have Wings
Certain
films have the benefit, or curse, of being so dated that they become a window
of their period. Only Angel Have Wings,
a Cary Grant led action drama about aviators who deliver mail in the Andes
Mountains, could only be made in 1939, but it is still thrilling because of
that reason. These are pilots who must risk flying on rickety at best planes in
terrible weather without GPS, which is all sorts of horrifying. The film is an
intense experience not just because of the ride itself but also the cast of
characters riding the planes. This is a group that intends to live in present,
they are fueled by the adrenaline and forget about the dead, or at least try to
forget. While it never provides much in plot Only Angels Have Wings is still striking character drama about thrill
seeking, and fatalistic masculinity. It is certainly a better choice than
watching the Point Break remake
again.
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Royal Tenenbaums is an adult family
comedy about the internal strife of the artistic Tenenbaum family, who must
deal with their dying estranged father, who is kind of a jerk but still means
well. Like all of Wes Anderson films, The
Royal Tenebaums has a quirky aesthetic blend of dry French new wave, the
farces of Hal Ashby, and old dollhouses. His style may seem absurd initially but
once one gets acclimated, the costumes reveal symbolic meaning, the dialogue begins
to pierce, and the characters reveal their soul with graceful restraint. While The Royal Tenebaums does surpass his
best film: The Grand Budapest Hotel, it
certainly one of Wes Anderson’s most effective and emotional works.
The Last Man On Earth
The
idea of a Vincent Price led vampire movie loosely based on I Am Legend sounds rather exciting but it falters under wonky
pacing and stiff drama. The biggest fault is that features an overly long
flashback that is almost nothing but exposition that is delivered with the
verve of a smoking PSA. Vincent Price is certainly the best part of the film,
and it is refreshing to see Price playing a ordinary man in danger instead of a
frightening clever schemer, but his charisma is not enough of to keep that
second act from feeling like a lecture. Those who can plow through that brick
wall of exposition will be rewarded with a more admirable adaptation of I Am Legend than the hammy and
wrongheaded Will Smith film, but not by much.
A Woman Under The Influence
The
upside to college is getting introduced to a new great filmmaker that does not
get circulation anymore. John Cassavetes is probably better known as Rosemary’s
husband in Rosemary’s Baby or the arrogant private The Dirty Dozen; beyond acting, he was a quietly talented filmmaker
that independently directed these loose—almost improvised—day-in-the-life dramas.
Among them is A Woman Under The Influence,
a film about a mentally unstable woman (played masterfully by Gena Rowlands)
and her relationship with her husband (Peter Falk) and three kids. The film
looks rough, modern films of its type—like Rachel
Getting Married—seem polished in comparison, but it ultimately does not
matter because it is such a devastating and powerful experience that it can
leave even the most cynical viewer stunned.
Zodiac
The plan was to write something longer about this film, but since I might get swept
away by this hurricane, I’ll just say this: it is a David Fincher murder
mystery/journalism story about the Zodiac Killer, starring Jake Gyllenhaal,
Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo, go see it. Already did? See it again.
Well that is it, some of these were pretty
bleak, so click here to see Paul Newman on a bicycle.
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