Here's a movie to maybe look forward to.



One of the most important illuminated manuscripts from Dark Ages is the Book of Kells, which is known for its incredible artistry and haunting, inspiring illuminations. Now, from the emerald shores of Ireland, comes a highly fictionalised telling of the book's creation. Just by looking at the great visuals you'd be tempted to think that it could have been made by Genndy "Samurai Jack" Tartakovsky, but was made by Tomm Moore, and seems to draw visual inspiration from Celtic art, myths and the previously mentioned Cartoon Network show. Known as Brendan and the Secret of Kells in other parts of the world, this movie (or maybe its just the trailer) dances around the fact that the Book of Kells is an illuminated Bible, though I'll have to see the actual movie to verify if this is an assumption or just the usual, run-off-the-mill political correctness making something with great potential nonsense. The latter would suck, but at least, visually, we will be in for a treat.

I can't keep it in anymore.

I just got to get out and say it. David Fincher's Zodiac, is not just the best movie about a dead end I've ever seen, but it is maybe one of the best I've seen, and I can't actually tell you why. And I can understand why you'd disagree, but I feel it in my gut that its a good movie.

Hurdy gurdy hurdy gurdy hurdy gurdy man, baby!



So is the French movie A Very Long Engagement, but for a totally different reason. At least I can tell you why; it has a good structure, it is really involving, it's told and filmed beautifully, and it has Audrey Tatou in the lead. Dreamy girl with polio limp goes out in search of her fiancé, who disappeared in the trenches of World War One. She believes him to be alive and uses her wits to find the truth of the suicide mission he was sent on. To borrow one reviewers phrase, the movie is "epic and intimate" while also an engaging mystery and love story. Just expects its bursts of French sexuality.



Goodnight.

This is actually old news, but it is still an active film project, so reasonably, I'm annoyed by it hearing only of it today. So this is a semi-rant.

What do the movies "The Magnificent Seven", "Battle Beyond the Stars" and Pixar's "A Bug Life" all have in common? They are all remakes (some incredibly loose) of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece epic, "Seven Samurai" (also based on it was the anime series "Samurai 7", but if I listed that you might have guessed the question). On Saturday I watched the NTSC Criterion DVD (one of the best editions you'd probably get without employing a time-machine) and found the movie still breathtaking, despite having seen the movie several times before. The final battle, set during cinema's most memorable downpour, is unforgettable and magnificently filmed. Not that the film is perfect, but then again, as Pauline Kael observed, few great movies rarely are. In terms of remakes Akira Kurosawa has been blessed. Although I don't consider it a masterpiece, "The Magnificent Seven" is an enjoyable classic Hollywood western. "Battle Beyond the Stars" was more of a Star Wars cash-in / B-movie that, at least, acknowledged the original, and "A Bugs Life" manages to truly stand on its own. "Samurai 7" was also good, but maybe too over-the-top to take seriously. Quite frankly this is where it should have ended. How many times can you have a movie where villagers pay hungry fighters with room and board?

Not enough, apparently. Now there is going to be yet another unnecessary remake of the movie. This time it will be imaginatively titled "The Seven Samurai" (hooboy, definite article!) and George Clooney is attached for a 2011 release. I like George Clooney, only he strikes me a tad too Caucasian for the role. Okay, I'll admit, that was a cheap-shot. I know he wont be playing  a samurai in the classical sense. The producers have rationalized a Hollywood cast. Apparently the "samurai" are going to be "private military contractors" (aka mercenaries) who defend a village of farmers somewhere in Asia (Thailand, I think). So, I suppose they'll use the word "samurai" as a loose metaphor, just like the 1998 movie "RONIN" did, though there it was thoughtfully applied through seemingly opaque references to the Japanese legend of the 47 Ronin. Since that movie did it first I can't help but find it old hat here. And, at least, RONIN was an original story. And as Umberto Eco said, the first man to compare his love to a rose was a genius and the second one an idiot. But I digress...

In the original the masterless samurai were paid not with gold but with rice to stave off their hunger, though I have no idea what they'd give them in the remake since paying hungry mercenaries with rice / springrolls, even in the current economic climate, would be stretch. Given the dubious morals of most mercenaries in the real world they'll probably ask for brides to sell on-line, but I suppose that would be too "real" for mass-appeal. No doubt Clooney would play the weary merc who seeks like-minded weary mercs to play heroes and combine a cynicial variation of the cast of the live-action GI Joe movie, then take them to a village who will have a less gray, ambiguous quality than the original village (who considered their saviours more or less a nuisance equal to the bandits they oppose). I suppose the "bandits" will either be Al Queda or drug dealers with John Malkovich leading them in either incarnation. No doubt one of the seven mercs (played by Steve Buscemi) will be some kind of religious nut / crazy Christian because what "serious" movie today doesn't have one? The others will, no doubt, be a sparkling vampire, a werewolf, a rebellious angel, a tall blue guy and Shia LeBoef as the gunman with the broken hand and the itchy trigger-finger. There will also be a full-bodied love story and everyone will find a lady-friend to bed, and no doubt the movie will culminate in a large, explosion ridden finale where bombs drop, houses of reeds fly into the air before disintegrating in great balls of fire and people get machine gunned in slow motion. The movie will probably be two hours long as well, with minimal characterization and lots of additional action scenes that pop up at random places, most of them slow-motion. Then, despite the carnage and death, the villagers will love our non-Thai heroes and invite them to stay, which they wont and they'll ride off into the sunset in their blood-money soaked Hummers while Linkin Park sings over the credits, assuming they don't go with a Care Bear ending (don't even go there).

Well, that is the worst-case scenario. Not all remakes are necessarily bad - some are even better than the originals (like the Humphrey Bogart movie, "The Maltese Falcon", which was actually the second remake) so, until we know more, we have to give them the benefit of the doubt. If the filmmakers try to make something poignant or thoughtful they could actually make a good movie. Seven Samurai praised the samurai code (Bushido) while condemning the caste-based, conformity-praising society that spawned it. In a modern setting the movie can be made to criticize the questionable practices of the world's military industrial complex as well as those of private para-military corporations, and if they try to do something like that then I may be on-board as a viewer.

But what are the chances of THAT happening?

How far can I make it into February without using my LJ?

"I was thinking how a man could spend thirty years in prison, and come out and forgive the men who did it to him."
- Francois Pienaar

(This review may imply spoilers by accident)

( Is it about... rugs? )

One of these days I may tell you about Project X, if it ever comes off the ground. Look for it, though

What Project X is not:

(a) Another book I'm writing
(b) Another international trip
(c) World Domination
(d) Last Year at Marienbard

Dear LJ

Am I ever going to use you for something not movie related?

I have no idea what they're saying but the message is clear... I suppose.

It came as a total shock to hear that French Filmmaker Érich Rohmer is dead, despite the fact that I saw it coming (hey, he's 89 afterall!). Yet it was as if to hear an old friend or a comparatively more famous filmmaker had died. Like eccentric old Marlon Brando he's the kind of person you subconsciously wanted to live forever. This is weird because I've seen only one movie of his, a movie called The Green Ray, which is unimaginatively called Summer in the United States (maybe snobby art-house distributors were afraid their target audience might think it a science fiction title). He's made many other movies that I still have to explore, and the one I did see is considered a lesser by his fans. Yet it is impossible for me not to remember it warmly.

The story is so slight and simple that it seems like a trifle, yet its emotional impact was considerate. It is about a young lady who has taken leave from work for a month to spend with her lover only to discover a week before its start that he's leaving her. She could cancel her leave but decides to take the leave anyway; she travels between Paris and several destinations in the country-side, seeking distraction from her break-up but is unable to. It becomes clear that she does not want "love", or even sex (which is easy to find in France) but a deeper connection with someone. She also begins to seek out a strange atmospheric phenomenon known as the green ray after hearing people discuss a lesser Jules Verne book with a similar name. The movie eschews plot and clichés for dialogue and character, but the dialogue is not quirky and rich like Quentin Tarantino's and the characters are neither tropes nor quirky eccentrics but ordinary people who live simple lives. Even the visuals are simple compositions and the infrequent soundtrack is a singular cello. I bet I can shoot a richer and more aesthetically pleasing movie in my back yard, and yet I doubt mine would have the same emotional impact (simplicity is, alas, not one of my virtues). Truth is more famous directors than Rohmer - Tarantino, Kurosawa, Kubrick, Spielberg, the Coen Brothers, no matter how "realistic" their movies are they are ultimately part of the realms of cinema. Rohmer somehow seems to capture the everyday and the simple truths beneath it, and make it fascinating.

Unlike many other directors of the French New Wave (who were brazen young men deliberately eschewing and undermining the traditions story-telling devices of the medium), Rohmer was already nearing 50 when he went from journalism, teaching and writing to filmmaking. Being a Catholic his movies were subtly spiritual without even being religious (though some did
touch on that). Unlike other filmmakers (like Kurosawa) I can not recommend him outright; his movies are deliberately slow and minimalist and are not really to anyone's taste. Even another fan of his, Quentin Tarantino, warns that the best you can do is "just watch one of his movies" to see if you like his style. If you are willing to sit back and just observe with the movie then you're in for something special.

He's been dead for seven years, and he's been played by Joaquin Phoenix in the meantime, but, forsooth, Johnny Cash is releasing yet another album in February. Or at least his producer is.

Previously unreleased material... again.

(Not that I'm knocking Rick Rubin; his work with Cash has five distinguished records of incredible musical value. It's just that I find it all VERY cynical, but maybe I'm just projecting.)

Well... no doubt... I'll be buying it... just for the sake of completion.

Here are some pictures I've taken with my cell-phone camera over the past month of Pretoria in the springtime (October). Some of you may remember that my now-finished writing project is begins in that month (more or less). Well, here are the pictures with descriptions.
( Kruger-town shuffle )

Gran Torino: Clint Eastwood
It beats a lonely rhythm all night long. Clint Eastwood's lost "official" movie as an actor is a subtle criticism on the urban thrillers of his career, particularly the Dirty Harry movies. Technically, it's a movie from last year, but I saw it in February - so sue me.

District 9: Neil Blomkamp
In South Africa there used to be a joke that went like this: "Why didn't those giant space-ships from Independence Day go to Johannesburg?" "Because they were afraid of getting hijacked." It wouldn't surprise me if District 9 was inspired by both lines of that joke. A great, original movie that's not that much of a commentary on Apartheid as many would believe it to be. Rather, it's a guided tour of the ills of modern Africa as a whole...

Up: Peter Docter
Fitzcarraldo with balloons? Not really. It dwells on the same theme but unlike Werner Herzog's operatic spectacle it's not madness that fuels Carl Frederickson's obsession; rather it comes from love for his wife, which is infinitely more tangible. Pixar will have to work hard to beat this one.

Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino
Despite not being helped by doses of brutality and violence this movie is a first-rate love-letter to the power of cinema - literally. The title should let you know exactly what you're in for since most of the people here, even the good guys, are ruthless "bastards", but it is the most sympathetic character, Shoshanna Dreyfus, who gets the last laugh. Startling, twisted, quirky, whimsical, delightful. The end chapter "Revenge of the Giant Face" is alone worth the price of admission.

(500) Days of Summer: Marc Webb
Tom falls in love with Summer, but from the start we know their romance is doomed to fail. A bitter sweet romance movie structured like someone remembering a love-affair this movie is non-linear, yet does not seem to use its structure as a bad excuse to confuse the viewer. Rather, emotionally, it makes perfect sense. And, despite being about a failed romance it can still be very cheerful.

Avatar: James Cameron
Flawed, but I liked it. Do better next time.

Star Trek: JJ Abrams
Pure fun. Nothing else.

Watchmen: Zach Snyder
This movie grew on me; the ridiculous violence is off-putting, as well as the gratuitous extended sex, but ultimately it is a haunting, complex movie, and impossible for me to hate. The graphic novel is probably better, and I'll get to it eventually.

Slumdog Millionaire: Danny Boyle
Another 2008 film seen this year (thank you, international distribution. A great movie with great performances. Jai frickin' ho. 

Invictus: Clint Eastwood
Nelson Mandela becomes president of South Africa and uses a sporting event played by a minority to bring a nation together. After years of political isolation by international sports bodies South Africa is finally allowed to play against other teams. Unfortunately after emerging from Apartheid their no good. Rugby is not a sport that lends itself freely to film-making but for many of us South Africans its the small details that would go over the head of everyone else that make the movie feel real. Eastwood has done better movies, but this one is still great.

With Roman Polanski seemingly destined to be extradited to California for an assured prison sentence my mind, wreathed in flame like the Eye of Sauron seeking the One Ring, turned towards his truest movie masterpiece, a beautiful, tragic mystery set in a forgotten era...

( As little as possible... )

They're showing Death Note on Animax again, and this time I'm watching it.

Can't...

...stop...

...watching...

...help....

Edit: Oh yes, I'm also writing again...

From the pen of Koos Du Plessis, every South African's favourite existentialist singer-songwriter, comes this Christmas carol called Somerkersfees, or Summer Christmas. Don't mind that it's in Afrikaans, it's just beautiful and simple.




Here's a rough, partial English Translation found on-line:

Welcome the silent night of peace here
under our Southern Cross
with voices from the ancient his’try
whisp’ring through fields of stars

Chorus:

Christmas comes, in our hearts
praise the Lord our God
give us the brightest summer’s Christmas
in our warm land, O Lord

O hear the church bells speaking softly
a language ages old
and hear the quiet fields that nightly
repeat the age old tale

It's a everything and nothing! It's a double-edged sword that's blunt on the one end and sharp at the other! Coming finally after years of anticipation Avatar both delivers yet fails to delivers. It is a success and it is a failure. On the one hand it delivers and creates a completely new world of awe and wonder that is tangible and that feels real and plausible even after you walk out of the theatre. Yet from a story perspective it gives us characters that are flat and average, card board cut outs, something you don't find easily in a movie by James Cameron.

( la vie en 3D )

Well, it seems that Thor has it in me because lightning struck my ADSL broadband again, so now I'm back to the dial-up. You won't be seeing much of me, subsequently, on anything for the next 6 weeks or so, but I can still be reached by e-mail.

Semantics time. Some people would define a "good movie experience" as just about any good movie, but me being me I tend to view the term as meaning something more than just an excellent or competently made movie. For me a good movie experience is something that, on some level stands out more than a movie that is probably better; it is something that skips directly to the top of the brain because some aspect of it make it original and different. This means that although you may have been deeply touched by Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers or more entertained by Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark you probably would remember Terry Gilliam's Brazil more fondly as an interesting, original but missed opportunity. This is not a "best of" or "favourite" movie list, but something else.

So, keeping that in mind, I will now list my favourite movie experiences, in no particular order.

( What the fudge! )

“You see, Agent Mulder, I do not have any like for you. You are a millstone around my neck... a burden... like life is a burden to the donkey Balthasar in that dopey Bresson film. I am a G-Man, a government man with no position officially listen on public record, yet with a mansion and a yacht at Harties, and unfortunately for you I'm pretty dangerous. Now, when you say you want to tango with me, you want to go to the mattresses, get down and dirty, take the gun leave the cannoli, then I can only say to you what the famous director Ingmar Bergman told me twenty five years ago, which was ‘Get off my back, get off Fårö, or I’ll have you thrown in military prison.’ Now, the first segments you can probably ignore, but just pay attention to the last two words. Military prison. Not a nice place, even on Christmas. Now, put down those cookies, walk out of the front door, and leave Santa to us.”

No, this is not faked.