Dawn of the Ingmar Bergman Challenge

A couple of months ago I started this think called the Ingmar Bergman Challenge where I watch one film by Bergman every week. I stuck to it for a while but then sort of abandoned it because of college work, now I think I should put an end to it because I could never keep up with it partly because of college work and partly because I’ve pretty much watched all the Bergman films I could get my hands on. Most recently I’ve seen The Virgin Spring which was based on a Swedish folk story, although I enjoyed watching it I couldn’t help noticing the films similarities to the Wes Craven horror classic ‘The Last House On The Left’ I looked into it and it turns out that Craven did in fact base his film on The Virgin Spring which was made more than a decade before Last House. The last film I’ve watch was Persona, I was aware that this was considered by many to be Bergman’s greatest work so I was really looking forward to it. After watching, I was really lost for words, it was like transported into an era where films like that could be made, films just about people with such emphasis on the human aspect. I thought it was a great way to say goodbye to Bergman films at least for now. Below is the complete list of films I have watched, I must say that Wild Strawberries (pictured) still remains my favourite and others that I really like are Summer With Monika and The Seventh Seal.    

• The Seventh Seal (1957)
• Wild Strawberries (1957)
• The Magician (1958)
• Through a Glass Darkly (1961)
• Summer with Monika  (1953)
• Winter Light (1963)
• Autum Sonata (1978)
• The Virgin Spring (1960)
• Persona (1966)
• Summer Interlude (1951)

Tetsuo: The Iron Man

When I watched David Lynch’s Eraserhead for the first time a few years ago I thought I’d never watch anything as crazy or weird as that but after watching Shinya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man last week, I stand corrected.

How did I discover this obscure Japanese Cyberpunk film from the 80s you ask? Well I was watching the Mark Cousins documentary ‘The Story of Film: An Odyssey’ (which is fantastic by the way, I think a film lover would totally dig it) and I think it was episode 13 where a clip from a strange black and white Japanese film was shown – it was called Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Cousins described it as a cult Japanese Cyberpunk film. Now I’ve been busy for the past couple of weeks with college work so I had to put movie watching on hold (even the Ingmar Bergman challenge) but when I saw this 30 second clip on this documentary, I knew that it was far too interesting to let it pass. I went on the internet straight after the show and YouTubed ‘Tetsuo’ and could you believe my luck – the entire film was uploaded on there for public viewing free of charge and I immediately clicked on it, it was a little over an hour long and I had a class in about 2 hours so I decided to watch it seeing as I was home alone with no one to disturb me.

Now let me just make it clear that I don’t scare easily, I’m a huge fan of horror films and it’s very rarely I find a film that actually really scares me – the last one was Takashi Miike’s Audition which I saw last year on TV but Tetsuo was so (emphasis on the so) bizarre and creepy that I actually couldn’t watch it all in one go. I watched the film stopping every 10 minutes or so to take a breather, check if my hands were still flesh, have a sip of water and then continued again. If that hasn’t made clear how insane this film is I don’t know how else to convince you (maybe the screenshots will help).

I’m pretty sure Tsukamoto is a borderline schizoid because I don’t see how any normal person could come up with something like this. This film is a nightmarish Acid trip on celluloid. It was total madness and mind-blowing and also immensely creative as a film be it the subject matter or the special effects not to mention it was inspiring to see a really low budget film to have such an impact. I was initially going to start this article by stating that Tetsuo makes Eraserhead look like a children’s film but that was in the heat of the moment, now that I had time to reflect I don’t know which is more disturbing. Nevertheless, I’m glad I took a break from my college work to watch this, it really gave me something to think about for the whole week (and I’m still thinking about it now). If you’re bored with watching the same old stuff and want something different (to understate it) then I really suggest you give Tetsuo a chance, it should be right up your alley. I saw it on YouTube, the whole film was on one video but I tried to find the video again this morning and it wasn’t there, maybe it got deleted because of copyright but the film is still there on YouTube to watch in parts, I’m writing this because I assume it might be hard to get a copy of it on DVD. And you may also want to check out David Cronenberg’s Videodrome which I understand served as inspiration for Tetsuo. Well that’s it from me for now, be excellent to each other. Adios.

Films You May Not Have Seen That I’d Like To Recommend: Frantic

This is the noir thriller Frantic, directed and co-written by Roman Polanski. Now, when you think of Polanski as a filmmaker, you think of such masterworks as Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, and The Pianist to name a few, however one film not many people mention is Frantic. When released in 1988, although a critical success it didn’t play well at the box office and I guess through time it had been forgotten. That’s a shame because Frantic is a fine film, its Polanski’s homage to the great Hitchcock thrillers.

The pacing of the film is slow but not in a way that it bores you but in a way that it teases you. The story’s unravelling keeps you guessing till the very end. It’s very refreshing to watch now in 2012 because we’re used to thrillers being fast and ‘in your face’. Frantic is a classical thriller.

Set in Paris, the film stars Harrison Ford as a surgeon who finds himself in the middle of a terrorist plot when his wife gets kidnapped. Like a true thriller it has you on the edge of your seat from the very beginning, it’s full of twists and turns, weird characters and mistaken identity – Ford is the epitome of the Hitchcockian leading man. He plays the ‘out of his element’ doctor who is determined to find his wife no matter what, brilliantly. The expressions, the delivery is all spot one, Cary Grant couldn’t have done it better himself. The scenes on the roof are simply fantastic (and wonderfully reminiscent of Vertigo).

Along with the streets of 80s Paris, Ennio Morricone’s chilling score gives this film a disturbing atmosphere. It’s as if something is not quite right, it has almost a surreal dreamlike feel. When I heard it, it was very different because I’m used Morricone being a composer for Spaghetti Westerns and this was very modern and hip but there is still that special touch – the Morricone stamp on it which makes it special.

All in all, it is an under-appreciated thriller with an absorbing plot, great acting and a memorizing soundtrack. It should’ve gone down as one of the greats but unfortunately didn’t. I highly highly recommend.

Top Films from 2011

So this year’s Oscars are coming up – Now I don’t really care much for these awards but I cannot completely ignore them. I’m not exactly sure who’s got nominated for what but I did read that there are 10 films up for the Best Picture award. Again I don’t know all of them but there are a few like Hugo, The Artist, War Horse, The Tree of Life etc that I’ve heard have been nominated. It doesn’t make a difference to me which film wins, It won’t change the fact that Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris is my favourite film from last year. In fact I’ve made a list of my top 10 (or so) favourite films from last year (2011 UK releases). Midnight in Paris is number one but the rest are not in any order. As the year goes by I might do like a little review on each film but for now…

1. Midnight in Paris – Dir. Woody Allen

Hugo – Dir. Martin Scorsese

A Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas – Dir. Todd Strauss-Schulson

Limitless – Dir. Neil Burger

50/50 – Dir. Jonathan Levine

Red State – Dir. Kevin Smith

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules – Dir. David Bowers

The Artist – Dir. Michel Hazanavicius

Drive – Dir. Niclas Winding Refn

Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Dir. Rupert Wyatt

Horrible Bosses – Dir. Seth Gordon

Nearly made it: X Men First Class, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hangover Part II

Films I’m looking forward to in 2012

I’ m pretty excited this year, there are quite a few films that are coming out that I’ve been waiting for a long time and there are also the ‘small’ films that look like potential classics. I’m going to do this in order of release (in the UK), so I’ll go by months and talk a little bit about each film. Lets go.

First of all its the new Roman Polanski film ‘Carnage’ adapted from the stage play ‘God of Carnage’ by Yasmina Reza. Its a black comedy one room movie that plays in real time. I really like Polanski as a filmmaker (what he does in his personal life is none of my business) which is part of the reason why I’d like to go see this but it’s also because there are some really big actors starring in it – Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet and John C. Reilly (the premise looks pretty interesting also).  Carnage was released on the 3rd but I’ve been kinda busy with school work so I’ll probably go see this next week.

The Phantom Menace in 3D – I might or might not see this one, because I think it’s tied with Attack of the Clones as being the worst Star Wars film. However, I am curious to see how the Pod race and the underwater scenes will look in 3D, also it wouldn’t hurt to see the climactic lightsaber battle on the big screen. But it’s still  a maybe for me.

In March there are two films that I’m looking forward to – number one The Lorax the animated film based on the famous Dr Seuss book. Dr Seuss is one of my favourite authors and the last film Horton Hears a Who with Jim Carrey’s voice was not too bad and I hear Danny Devito is doing the voice of the Lorax and I can’t remember the last film I’ve seen him in so it should be fun, at least as a cute children’s film.

The second March release is ‘Being Flynn’ starring Robert De Niro and Paul Dano as father and son (I presume). I don’t know much about this film, I’ve seen the trailer and it looks promising – It might be a new classic and a comeback by De Niro or it might be just terrible. I think I’m gonna give it a shot.

In April there is the new American Pie film with the original cast and everything so that should be fun. I’ve been a big American Pie fan for quite some time – I think they’re brilliant, really funny and have great characters and its really cool that they’re doing a new with the actors from the first three films instead of doing another straight to dvd spin off or something. I think if done right it’s gonna be the big comedy of 2012. Fingers crossed.

The Avengers 3D – I’m not sure if this is coming out in April or May but anyway, Marvel have been hyping his film up for nearly five years. Although the trailers look cheesy this feels like it’s going to be epic .They introduced less known characters like Thor through their own film just to set up the big finale which is the Avengers. Marvel fanboys are going crazy and rightly so because its gonna be Ironman, Cap America, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Nick Fury and The Incredible Hulk all in one film. How are they gonna pull this off I do not know but although I doubt this will stand up against the new Batman film I just hope this isn’t a total failure.

In May there is the much anticipated Moonrise Kingdom which is the new Wes Anderson movie (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums). His films usually develop a cult following and I myself am a big fan but there are more reasons why I’m especially looking forward to this and its because its going to have some of my favourite actors in it. Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray as usual (oh and Bruce Willis). I haven’t seen the trailers or read anything to do with this film because I don’t want it spoiled but believe me I’m quite excited.

In June its the new Ridley Scott movie Prometheus which looks unbelieveably cool. It supposedly has something to do with the original Alien film but again I haven’t read up on it or watched the trailers because I know no matter what happens I’m going to watch this film. I’m a huge fan of Alien and Blade Runner and its great that he’s going back into the science fiction genre. We could have a masterpiece on our hands.

In July I believe the Amazing Spiderman is coming out. This is the reboot with Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker with Mark Webb directing. I’m one of those who thinks that the Sam Raimi films are perfect (well at least 1 and 2) and Toby Maguire was the perfect Peter Parker. Frankly, this reboot looks stupid – it’s got a hipster Spiderman with designer hair and apparently its gonna go into the origin which is a really stupid idea. However, its being directed by Mark Webb who made 500 days of summer (one of my favourites) and just for that I think I’ll give this a shot but I’d be surprised if I came out thinking it was better than the original.

Also in July another big comic book movie and probably the most anticipated film of 2012 the third installment in Nolan’s Batman series The Dark Knight Rises. Again this is something I’ll definitely see no matter what, I’ve seen the teaser poster and it looks super-cool. I think I speak for pretty much everyone when I say this is probably the one single movie everyone’s looking forward to the most in 2012. And I think like The Dark Knight this will top the expectations.

The new Pixar films coming out in August called Brave. I have absolutely no idea what its about – its set in Scotland supposedly but you know its a Pixar film and it kinda goes without saying that its gonna be on everyone’s list of movies to see in 2012. Pixar have a (almost) perfect track record and I’m sure they’ll deliver. Also in August is the Total Recall reboot which I’m sort of curious about, I thought the original was a lot of fun. Another August release is Diary of Wimpy Kid 3, I really like the first two so naturally looking forward to the new one.

Moving on to September, I think the only big one is the new Rian Johnson (Brick) science fiction film ‘Looper’. It’s set in the future and features time travel. Stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis. The picture above looks pretty darn cool as well.

And in November there is the gangster film The Gangster Squad – There isn’t much information about this but it stars Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin and Emma Stone – I’m sold. Also in November I believe the new Bond film is coming out - Skyfall.

Finally December. December actually looks like the busiest month because we have The Hobbit, World War Z, The Great Gatsby and the new film by Quentin Tarantino Django Unchained. I’m especially looking forward to The Great Gatsby starring Leo DiCaprio and Django Unchained also starring Leo DiCaprio among others. And on a final note Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City 2 I thought was supposed to come out in 2012 but there isn’t any news or updates on it which sucks but I’m keeping my hopes up on that one. So I guess that’s about it, I know I haven’t included a few films which you’ll definitely find on other peoples list like The Hunger Games, Men in Black 3 or the new Bourne film but hey this is my list you get what you get.  Thanks for visiting my blog. Hope to see you folks real soon.

Summer with Monika : Watched

As part of the Ingmar Bergman Challenge, I’ve watched my Bergman film for this week which was Summer with Monika about a doomed love story between two teenagers. Harriet Andersson’s performance as Monika was something that immediately stood out, you go from liking the character very much to absolutely hating her towards the end and not being aware that you are being manipulated in that way- at the same time having doubts about her throughout the film. I was really surprised by the way real life was portrayed, there are really harsh characters and teenagers smoking and swearing and lots of nudity – I was aware that this was a 1953 film so I was expecting it to be conservative (also it was rated PG) but then again it is a European movie and they have the reputation of being sexually liberated but still it was interesting to see it goes as far back as the 50s. All in all it’s a really good film, and I’m starting to believe that any subject Bergman works on will result in an interesting movie.

Watched:

• The Seventh Seal (1957)
• Wild Strawberries (1957)
• The Magician (1958)
• Through a Glass Darkly (1961)
• Summer with Monika  (1953)

 

Next up:

• Winter Light (1963)

 

The Ingmar Bergman Challenge

Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls. – Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman was a legendary Swedish filmmaker. His 1957 film The Seventh Seal established him as a world-class director. I first heard about him when he was mentioned by Woody Allen as a major influence on himself in an interview. I thought I should check out his films but never got around to it. A few months ago, on TV (Film4) they were doing an ‘Ingmar Bergman Season’ where every night they show a famous film by him. This was great because it was a chance to watch all of his films not just the odd iconic one.

I first watched The Seventh Seal, it being the most famous and Woody Allen’s favourite. I recognised the chess scene immediately because it had been referenced and parodied numerous times in films like Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey to the more recent 500 Days of Summer. The Seventh Seal was mesmerizing. It gave me a new perspective on films and really opened me to other classic foreign films and filmmakers.

However, I’ve only managed to watch four films by Bergman – The Seventh Seal (which I watched twice), Wild Strawberries (my favourite so far), The Magician and Through a Glass Darkly. And this was a few months ago. So I figured I should really get back to his films and watch some more. I’ve challenged myself to watch at least one Bergman film a week. Starting this week with Summer with Monika. Hopefully, If I get time I might be able to write about each film a little bit. Farewell.

Happy Holidays!

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is great hollow entertainment. It is funnier then it’s predecessor, has a lot more action and fight sequences and more explosions then a bond film. It will make you question if this really was based on Conan Doyle’s work, because it is more an action entertainer then a clever detective mystery.

This time, Holmes and Dr Watson have to take down the cunning Professor Moriarty. But it isn’t very clear what exactly Moriarty is trying to do and what our heros have to do to stop him. I felt there was no sturcture and the plot was all over the place and I think part of the reason for that is that they were trying to shove in unesscessary fights and jokes (to raise the entertainment value) rather then focus on telling a clever story. For a Sherlock Holmes adaptation, the script wasn’t as clever as I hoped. The film resorted to using only tricks and gimmicks that appeared clever. Another thing I didn’t very much like was the excessive use of slow-motion. I’m aware that every action blockbuster since The Matrix has been looking for an excuse to use slow-motion in fight scenes but this was just over the top. In the first film, it was completely justified and was used smartly to show the speed of Holmes’s thought process but this time around it becomes repetitive and seemed forced or out of place.

The performances were I thought shallow, but that might just be the script that doesn’t really leave room to develop the characters. Holmes and Watson are very one-dimensional, they feel like cartoon charcters. There is no complexity or depth. Robert Downy Jr’s Sherlock Holmes is Tony Stark with a Victorian costume. Jared Harris’s Moriarty was bland. He was more of a school teacher then criminal mastermind, Harris really underplays the character and we get a villain that doesn’t seem like much of a threat.

On the positive side, I really liked Philippe Rousselot’s cinematography. It was stylish and cool and shows great craftsmanship. I think giving each film in the seris a different colour scheme is a great idea, much like what Chrisitphor Nolan is doing with the Batman films i.e Begin’s as sepia, TDK was blue, TDKR is going to have by the looks of it a black and white colour pallette. So in that style the first Sherlock Holmes was green and now A Game of Shadows is blue. This might be the start of a thrend in Hollywood.

Overall A Game of Shadows is a hilarious action film thats very enjoyable as long as you don’t go in expecting a clever story or great acting.

Hugo

There was so much hype surrounding Hugo.  When the trailer first came out, many people including Scorsese fans were so critical. Everywhere on the internet the talk was negative, people were saying ‘What the hell is this!? Scorsese doing a children’s movie? In 3D?’ But as the release date was coming closer, interviews came out where Marty explained what he was trying to do with the 3D technology and the negativity sort of calmed down ‘Hey it’s Scorsese, he knows what he is doing’. I kept an eye on it all, I too was sceptical.  On opening weekend, all of a sudden it gathered universal acclaim, James Cameron called it a ‘Masterpiece’. However, the Box Office takings didn’t support the critical acclaim, and a few negative reviews started coming out. My curiosity had been peaked, but it wasn’t until about two weeks after the release that I had a chance to see it.

Being a big fan of Martin Scorsese, I went in expecting to be blown away (which I was). But the first thing that came to mind was ‘the marketing on this film was done all wrong’, Hugo is NOT a children’s film. I’d imagine many kids would rather go see Puss In Boots rather then put up with Hugo’s modest pace. In fact this film would only appeal to a very select group of people, namely lovers of film (which might explain why so many critics loved it) but Joe Average looking to take his kids out for a day of fun and laughter at the movies wouldn’t be too happy because although Hugo was advertised as a mainstream children’s blockbuster, in reality is very far from it.

Now that we’ve got that out the way, I must say that I was very impressed and came out thinking the extra money was money well spent. Based on the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the story takes place in a 30s Paris railway station and is about a young boy Hugo who attempts to repair a broken automaton to get in touch with his deceased father. Asa Butterfield gives a touching performance as Hugo, with Ben Kingsley, Chloe Grace Moretz and Sacha Baron Cohen all in solid supporting roles.

The set designs and special effects were amazing and grand. With the help of 3D you really are transported into this magical railway station. It wasn’t gimmicky but handled with class. The 3D uses depth to take us IN rather than have something stick OUT at us. Hugo is really a film about the story of film and George Melies innovations in filmmaking and film special effects. I assume Martin Scorsese really enjoyed making it and I’m sure many other film lovers will enjoy watching it. Adieu.