My Desert Island DVDs

Alright, I've been seeing people doing this for a couple of weeks on their own blogs and I've read them all with joy but never quite wanted to do it for myself. I mean, 8 movies to watch for the rest of my life? How would I ever pick? But I'm going to do it anyway because, well I guess it's kind of fun and Wild Celtic told me I should and if she says it's a good idea, it simply must be. The idea original concept comes from Fandango Groovers and is basically what I just described it to be: a list of the 8 movies that I would take with me if I had to live for the rest of my life on a deserted island. I must say that picking just eight movies is going to be a near impossibility. What I do know however is that this list will in no way represent my list of eight favourite films, but the ones that I could picture myself watching over and over again. Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game is one of my favourite films but I'm not so sure I'd want to be stuck with it until my death, ya know? So anyway, without further ado:

8. Adaptation- My pick for the best film of the decade, Adaptation is a film of unending complexity, maturity, hilarity, tenderness and passion. It's a film that is at once a middle finger to Hollywood conventions, a meditation on screenwriting, a biopic about a man obsessed with flowers and the author who writes about him and a deep, profound meditation on the nature and necessity of passion and how it often veers dangerously close to obsession, not to mention a brilliant performance by Nicholas Cage who plays clearly identifiable identical twins without any make-up tricks. Hollywood rarely takes chances on films like this anymore, which maybe explains why it rarely produces meaningful works these days.

7. Con Air- I'd need an action movie because I have a weakness for chases, shoot-outs and things blowing up, so why not take the one with Nic Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich? This one was one of my favourites from around grade 7 or 8 and still remains amazing. That last scene when Cage meets his daughter for the first time gets me every time.

6. La Dolce Vita- Fellini at his best. How could I live without this?

5. Fanny and Alexander- Haunting and magical. This is one of the few films that I have ever walked away from feeling as though the inner fabric of my being had been penetrated. This film plays upon every emotion known to the soul. It's also the culmination of Bergman's entire career.

4. Fubar- No matter the time nor the place this movie makes me laugh and laugh and laugh, and it's at different things every time. Maybe it's a Canadian thing?

3. Magnolia- Paul Thomas Anderson said that his approach to this film was to sit down and write everything he'd ever wanted to say, which is funny because this movie features just about everyone I've ever wanted to hear.

2. Rent Live on Broadway- I'd need a musical and since the Rent movie isn't very good and is missing important songs I'd take the live Broadway performance instead.

1. Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip- I would also need some stand-up comedy, so why not take the best? Not only do I love Richard Pryor because he was the greatest man to ever take the stage but with this performance he also gives you something to take home with you. As funny as this is, I always remember the discussion of going back to Africa where Pryor discovered just how equal everyone is. It's rare to be able to say that you're life is a little better from having seen a stand-up comedy performance. This is one of those.

If I could I'd also try to sneak Say Anything, but don't tell anyone.

Getting Some Action

Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables doesn't come out until August but with a recent trailer surfacing that shows not only the scene that he shares with Bruce Willis and Arnold, but lots of old school action mania, my appetite has been whetted. To be honest, as bad as this film could be, I'm still holding out hope. I used to love the silliness and senselessness of a lot of those old 80s action hero movies and even though most of them were horrible, I still cherish the authenticity they displayed that has been lost in today's technology fueled Hollywood. You know, the days when stunts were done by stunt men, explosions were caused by actual heat and gasoline and bullet holes were made with squibs and not mattes? That's what I hope to get with The Expendables. So, because I am bored and have been slacking over here for the past couple of weeks I've decided to collect a few of the most classic scenes from those 80s action movies. Some of the films are really quite horrible, but the lines are still great anyway.



Nothing can phase Chuck.



See



Classic Arnold line



My favourite line from Commando



Phone booths are nothing to a Commando



Really, this whole movie is classic



He showed him!



This is a bad man



This one basically speaks for itself

Hot Tub Time Machine (3.5 out of 5)

With The Hangover and now Hot Tub Time Machine comedies are once again vulgar for all the right reasons. The film is thus a wonderful throwback to the glory days of Harold Ramis and John Landis: films that were tasteless, but tastefully so because they believed in their comedy, followed it to the furthest extremes and, most importantly, didn’t let it fall outside of what could be acceptable as believable under the circumstances. There is nothing even remotely plausible about a hot tub that transports three men and one teenager back to the 80s, and yet, within the context of this film, it makes perfect sense as the actors play with the premise not into it. The hot tub is the maguffin that springboards into the laughs. That’s about the way it should be, for a macguffin, as Hitchcock teaches, is basically nothing important.

So then the question left is: does the film work? Well, I suspect that it does insomuch as any movie about a hot tub time machine ever could. That’s the trick; the movie continues to succeed outside of its outlandish plot because it’s clever, funny and well acted by men who rarely ever even acknowledge that they are trapped inside a movie about hot tubs and time travel. Too often movies like this draw attention to the fact that they are about something zany and come off as lazy and uninspired. These guys aren’t in on the joke and in turn the proceeds feel instead like what would logically happen to these men in this situation. That’s comedy.

It also helps that one of them, Adam, is played by John Cusack whose presence alone, in almost any movie, seems to make things a little nicer and a little brighter. Another, Nick, is played by Craig Robinson who you may know from The Office or as the deadpan scene stealer from Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Robinson is so good at delivering dialogue in such a flat, matter-of-fact manner that one gets to wondering whether or not a one-liner could ever be written that this man couldn’t make funny. It’s no surprise that this man get’s the film’s biggest laugh (you’ll know it when you see it).

Then there is Lou (Rob Corddry) who I guess by now can be considered to have the Zack Galafanakis role. You know the one: the token troublemaker. Lou is the guy who refuses to grow up, living life on the edge. “He’s an a-hole,” describes Nick. “But he’s our a-hole.” The fourth member of the group is Adam’s nephew Jacob (Clarke Duke) who is along for the ride and must ensure that the men stay their course in the past in order to avoid a butterfly effect.
Do you really need to know more than that? Maybe it’s also of note that Crispin Glover shows up as a one-armed bell boy every once in a while when an extra laugh is needed and Chevy Chase pops up here and there to play essentially the same character he’s been playing since Caddyshack.

The movie was directed by Steve Pink who wrote the invaluable High Fidelity and then went on to make his directorial debut with Accepted, the unexpectedly insightful and amusing college comedy. Now, with Hot Tub Time Machine, he’s pulled the rug out and gone all the way into shameless comedy. Is it tasteless? Sure it is, but it’s also funny, clever in its inside 80s references and Cusack especially brings a human quality to the entire thing. It’s by no means a major film, but like Accepted it takes a concept that sounds uninspiring on paper and makes it into something special instead of simply leaning on its gimmick premise. It’s not nearly as amusing as The Hangover, but I still laughed. How else is there to judge a comedy?

One Minute Review- Next Day Air (3.5 out of 5)

Next Day Air is the debut feature film from a music video director named Benny Boom. No joke. Generally guys with names like Benny Boom don't make boring movies and indeed Next Day Air is a hyper-kintisized version on that old fail safe genre of comedies parading around disguised as hard boiled thrillers. Someone has been reading up on their Elmore Leonard. It's a tried and true formula, and to be sure Next Day Air brings nothing new to it but hey, if it ain't broke, ya know?

So what we are greeted to is a large cast of eclectic characters who all go about different business but will, in one way or another, connect by the end of the film. There's the ever stoned delivery guy who delivers a package full of high grade coke, not to the proper door but to that of the incompetent bank robbers who stole the security tapes instead of the loot ("get the safe" is mistaken for "get the tapes," you see) and need to make way on foot after they discover that they locked the getaway car. Thus, the robbers want to sell the inheritance, the Mexicans who it belongs to want it back and the delivery guy just wants more weed. Although this whole enterprise is not plotted as tightly as say Pulp Fiction or Jackie Brown, it's in the same artistic vein as early Guy Ritchie capers, and all of the actors seem to have a good time with the material, especially the surprisingly restrained Mike Epps who steals some of the film's best lines. Minor, but not bad for a first timer.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let me start with some context. I started this blog back in January for 2 reasons. The first was because ever since grade 11 I have had a deep love of film and knew that, no matter what I ended up doing in life, I would forever want to share that with anyone who would listen. Second, after writing for Suite101 for a year I was underpaid and tired to converting my reviews into the third person (a big critical no-no in my books) and so I wanted to start something more intimate and interactive. Something I could put myself into.

Over the course of those three months I have gained 22 followers, found countless wonderful film related blogs and have become associated with some great people (many of whom have come to comment regularly on this site). I won't name names for fear of alienating someone but you know who you are.

In a medium that is sometimes defined by snobbery and elitism I felt like I had found a variety of great blogs written by open minded people who were kind, accepting of other opinions and generally promote open and useful debate. Similarly, I have tried to prowl the comment sections of these blogs, offing things to say that would stimulate further thinking or debate as opposed to a simple hey, good job. Even when I disagreed with what someone was saying I kept mind of their opinion, the quality of their writing, the strength of their argument, etc. so that alternate views could be aired without any feelings hurt or respect lost.

Then, a few days ago I made a comment on Cinema Viewfinder, a good and popular blog run by Tony Dayoub. Tony said he was off for Easter but made mention of some interesting things coming soon to DVD, one of which was the release of a 2008 French film called Summer Hours. Having recently saw the film the found it enjoyable but minor I commented to Tony that I felt that the film did not deserve the Criterion treatment. That's it. Just a statement of opinion. No justification (not like I'm going to write a review in someone's comment section), just that I personally thought the film not deserving of Criterion's stamp.

Tony responding, said he thought Summer Hours was a great film but that we were even because he didn't personally felt that Gomorrah didn't quite deserve the Criterion stamp. Fair enough. The topic was done with. Then some figure who I've never heard of who goes by the name of Sam Juliano and I've since discovered is but one of many writers for some elitist blog called Wonders in the Dark, commented back, basically attacking me for not liking Summer Hours as much as he. I'll copy and paste our back and forth as follows here:

Mike Lippert said...
Hmmm Summer Hours got the Criterion treatment? I liked it but didn't think it was good enough for Criterion. It's always strange to see which modern movies they will decide to put out but hey, they can put out whatever they want as long as the quality titles keep coming like My Life to Live and the prices keep going down. Have a good one.

April 2, 2010 5:29 PM
Tony Dayoub said...
You didn't think it was good enough for Criterion? That was on my best list for 2008.

Well, part of the reason it is on Criterion is because it's part of the deal where they're releasing IFC films like CHE, A CHRISTMAS TALE, GOMORRAH, HUNGER, etc.

I guess we're even because though I liked GOMORRAH, I wasn't thrilled with it enough for a Criterion special edition, myself.

April 2, 2010 5:33 PM
Sam Juliano said...
Geez, if Mike Lippert doesn't think SUMMER HOURS is good enough for Criterion, then what contemporary film does he think does qualify??? This is one of the greatest films of recent years, as so many of the very best bloggers have attested to with stellar reviews, not to mention (dare I say?) the entire professional establishment. Criterion is lucky to get this masterpiece.

April 3, 2010 9:25 AM
Mike Lippert said...
The entire establishment agrees that Summer Hours is one of the very best of all recent films? That means that every critic who saw it liked it? Which means it should be getting 100% on the two big critics ranking sites? Seems like it's sitting at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes (sorry Tony, I know your feeling on this site) and 84% on Meta Critic. Plus the viewer ratings on IMDB are sitting at 7.1. I'd think a film that has swayed everyone with it's undisputed brilliance would be closer to 10 wouldn't you?

I'm not saying that Summer Hours is a bad film, I'm simply saying that, like other great critics like Roger Ebert and J. Hoberman, I found it somewhat minor. I'm sorry for presenting a view that is not the same as yours, I didn't realize that wasn't allowed. I was under the impression that criticism has thrived and remained alive all these years because of the fact that not everyone agrees.

Having read what Tony had written about the film I respect his opinion as all of his work is thoughtful and well written. I do not however buy into the argument that just because some of the "very best" bloggers have loved this film means anyone who doesn't love it is wrong.

As for contemporary films that deserve the Criterion treatment before this one? Everlasting Moments, Shotgun Stories, Balast, Best of Youth, 25th Hour, Man Push Cart, Chop Shop Conversation(s) with Other Women, Dopamine, Keane, Nobody Knows, Russian Ark, Saraband, The Son, L'Enfant, Lorna's Silence. On top of this there are still plenty of Ingmar Bergman movies that have never been released in North America, a couple of Fellini movies and Richard Linklater's SubUrbia still can't be found on DVD.

I would rather fork out the extra cash for a DVD with the Criterion stamp for any of these films before Summer Hours. I'm sorry you disagree.

April 3, 2010 11:15 PM
Sam Juliano said...
Mike, you are the first (and only) person who has contested this great masterpiece for Criterion treatment, and if any other bloggers venture over to this site on Easter weekend, I'm confident they'll make the same observation. Yeah, that's right. Your comment here is NOT the final word, and I felt incensed enough by the shortsightedness of your posting it in a public forum to mention that every film blogger I've read has praised this film to the rafters, with a number placing it as their #1 of the year, or in their top 5. So basically you're issue is that I brought up the whole of the critical establishment in the blogger world and within the professional ranks.

My bad. Every critic and every blogger out there should back off and let "Mike Lippert's" opinion stand tall. I'm sorry Mike, you seem like an intelligent young man, and you're fairly polite as well, but if you are going to make that statement in a public forum, with a film as celebrated at that one, I simply must call you on it. Criterion did not base they decision on whether YOU liked the choice, but rather on an overwhelming concensus, and I'd say it's one of their most inspired choices ever. I already own the film on Region 2, and will definitely be double dipping here.

You make a point that the film doesn't have a 100% rating, but what film does have a 100% rating? You pose that "prestigious" list of potential Criterions, but not a single one of those has a rating as high as SUMMER HOURS. And while you take extreme issue with a brief e mail that obviously rubbed you the wrong way, you then use Roger Ebert and J. Hoberman as examples of critics who didn't like the film. You make no mention of the fact that SUMMER HOURS captured the trifecta of winning Best Foreign Film from the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of the Film Critics, which I think is the definitive critical word. But I know, Richard Linklater's SUBURBIA is far more important for Criterion treatment. Of course.

(to be continued)

April 4, 2010 10:12 AM
Sam Juliano said...
As far as that list you posed as films "more deserving" than SUMMER HOURS, I'll say first up that EVERLASTING MOMENTS was my #7 film of 2009, and it has actually already been announced for Criterion treatment. I also love teh Dardennes' films and that humanist Japanese gem NOBODY KNOWS, but I could really say the same thing here by saying that the following films deserve the Criterion treatment more than the ones you mention: (I am in the minority with RUSSIAN ARK, but I am humble enough to admit it has an overwhelming regard, so I say the issue is with ME not the film)

Kings and Queen (Despletchin)
Son Frere (Chereau)
The Lives of Others (Von Donnarsm)
Devils on the Doorstep (Wen)
The House of Mirth (Davies)
A Time For Drunken Horses(Ghobadi)
Werchmeister Harmonies (Tarr)
Talk To Her (Almodovar)
Downfall (Hershbiegel)
35 Shots of Rum (Denis)
Far From Heaven (Haynes)
Fateless (Koltai)
Dogville (Von Trier)
The Sweet Hereafter (Egoyan)
Seraphine (Provost)
Moolaade (Sembene)
4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days (Mungiu)
Fateless (Koltai)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(Schnabel)
The Fountain (Aronofsky)
The Maid
Of Time and the City (Davies)
The Pool (Smith)
The Last Mistress (Breillat)
Synchedoche New York (Kaufman)
Inland Empire (Lynch)
Alexandre (Sokorov)
Children of Men (Cuaron)
Tropical Malady (Weerasethakul)
Rat-Trap (Gopalaskrishnan)
Police Adjective
Un Prophete (Audiard)
2046 (Kar-Wei)
Cache (Haneke)
Syndromes and a Century (Weerasethakul)
Assassination of Jesse James (Dominick)
Pan's Labyrinth (Cuaron)
The Ister (Barrison, Ross)
Crimson Gold (Panahi)

And there are a number of others that would be ideal candidates for the Criterion treatment from the contemporary period. But we know these are fantasies here, as a bevy of reasons won't allow such a gleeful development.

But of all the recent decision-making at the Voyager company, the decision to go with Assayas' masterpieces is frankly one of their finest hours.

I'm sorry you disagree.

April 4, 2010 10:14 AM
Sam Juliano said...
Gus Van Sant's ELEPHANT and the wonderful Irish gem ONCE would be nice additions to the collection too.

But Mike, what exactly do you mean by this statement here:

"On top of this there are still plenty of Ingmar Bergman movies that have never been released in North America"

What do you mean by "plenty?" Bergman (who is my own personal favorite director of all-time) has been comprehensively served on region 1 on DVD, and completists have no doubt celebrated. The "plenty" that you note here is only FACE TO FACE (which has a long running rights issue and never even appeared on laserdisc) and THE MAGICIAN, which I understand we may see within the next year. But aside from those two, there is nothing of any consequence unrepresented on these shores. I do love SUMMER WITH MONIKA and ILLICIT INTERLUDE, but the all-Region Tartans are negotiable on North American players, so in effect that have been released for worldwide consumers, including North American ones. Similarly the all-Regions of MARIONETTES and THE SERPENT'S EGG are also on these shores in that Tartan series, and are easily obtainable cheaply.

What we have of course is nearly the entire kitten kaboodle for Bergman lovers:

Wild Strawberries (Criterion)
The Seventh Seal (Criterion)
Through A Glass Darkly (Criterion)
The Silence (Criterion)
Winter Light (Criterion)
The Virgin Spring (Criterion)
Sawdust and Tinsel (Criterion)
Smiles of a Summer Night(Criterion)
The Magic Flute (Criterion)
Cries and Whispers (Criterion)
Fanny and Alexander (Criterion)
Persona (MGM/UA)
Shane (MGM/UA)
Hour of the Wolf (MGM/UA)
The Passion of Anna (MGM/UA)
Torment (Eclipse)
Crisis (Eclipse)
Port of Call (Eclipse)
Thirst (Eclipse)
To Joy (Eclipse)

Geez, what's your beef? What's really left of any consequence at this point for North American and worldwide consumers? And no significant Fellini is MIA at this point either. I know, that was an April's Fool's Day joke, right?

Hey Mike, Happy Easter to you and yours!!

April 4, 2010 12:22 PM
Sam Juliano said...
And there are a few more I neglected to include too, every single one of which I own,like so many other bloggers.

Scenes From A Marriage (Criterion)
Saraband (Sony)
Autumn Sonata (Criterion)

At this point we should be thinking about the absence of Sjostrom's THE WIND, Vidor's THE CROWD and THE BIG PARADE, Von Stroheim's GREED, Sjostrom's THE SCARLET LETTER and HE WHO GETS SLAPPED and a bunch of other silent gems that continue to be MIA on legitimate DVD release (though VHS to DVD conversions are easily enough to manage) before we aim our thoughts at a virtually completed negotiation of Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini on DVD.

Back to SUMMER HOURS: In addition to Tony Dayoub's impassioned and brilliant commentary on the blog for Assayas's film I would point to three reviews of the film that were wholly extraordinary. One is by Joel Bocko at THE SUN'S NOT YELLOW and WONDERS IN THE DARK, Ed Howard at ONLY THE CINEMA and Craig Kennedy at LIVING IN CINEMA. It was Kennedy's #1 film of the year.

Needless to say it finished in my own Top 10 as well.

Yeah, I know I'm being a bully here, but this great film deserves every aggression I can muster.

April 4, 2010 12:43 PM
Mike Lippert said...
Sam, your passion for this film is inspiring but does not change in my mind that it is minor. Did I say I didn't like it? Nope, I only said that I didn't think it was Criterion worthy. And if you read my original statement, that's exactly what I said: That (I) didn't think so. I didn't say that Criterion has now lessened their brand, that they should have consulted me first, that this product should be boycotted. Nope, I only said I thought the movie was minor. I also encouraged its release saying that, if the release of contemporary films continues to promote the brand while driving prices down, all the better. I have no idea where you got that I put my foot down and deemed my opinion of the film more worthy simply because it exists in the minority. If others think it is a major work than I am glad they have found some joy in it that I did not and would gladly read and respect their entitlement to their opinions, including yours if you have a review of it out there somewhere.

April 4, 2010 4:13 PM
Mike Lippert said...
Another thing, the comment about Fellini was not an April fool's joke. Being my favourite filmmaker there is nothing I would love more than to own copies of Casanova, The Clowns and The Voice in the Moon, be they minor or not.

Same goes for Bergman. I don't care if the majority of his major work has been released in North America, as a completest I want copies of :

After the Rehersal
All These Women
Brink of Life
Devil's Eye
Devil's Wanton
Dreams
Face to Face
It Rains on Our Love
A Lesson in Love
The Magician
Monika
Music in Darkness
The Rite
Secrets of Women
Ship Bound for India
Summer Interlude
This Can't Happen Here
The Touch

Or did you forget about those ones?

On another note, every critic on every blog on the internet has loved this film? I think this is a case of someone being blinded by love. You've let your hyperbole get the best of you.

Here's a review from PA Editor's Blog: http://paeditorsblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/film-review-summer-hours-french-film.html

I especially agree with the last line: Looking for a lighthearted film with a little bit of seriousness, this is the film for you. Too bad, it could have been a more significant film.

The writer of Static Fix didn't seem to love it either: http://staticfix.blogspot.com/2009/05/in-my-best-bad-accent-summer-hours.html

Or do these two blogs not count because they are not part of the blog elite who all deemed Summer Hours an undisputed masterpiece?

But now we're just splitting hairs and wasting time. So on one final note, I must say that, you say my opinion here has been short-sighted. To be honest, of course it is. I didn't come here to this blog to write my own personal review in the comments section. If I wanted to review Summer Hours I have my own blog for that. I'm sorry you took such offense that you needed to fill up 4 comment boxes just trying to negate it but really, it was an off-the-cuff comment that referred simply to my own personal feelings and nothing more.

April 4, 2010 4:39 PM
Sam Juliano said...
Mike:

I did indeed take exception to what you said. And yes, I most certainly DID fill up four comment boxes on an Easter Sunday where I should rightfully be upstairs with my five kids in this gorgeous weather. But you made a statement at a public forum, making an assertion that I strongly condemn. Sorry, but you are fair game. Don't bother sending me links to the extreme minority. I can send you a recent review of a blogger who hated CITIZEN KANE! The point is I can send you tons of links to the contrary, and you conveniently ignored the awards it won from the NY, LA and NSOFC, which really says it all on that front. I did not take your comment as "off the cuff" at all, it was a provocative insult to tasteful movie lovers, and I responded in kind.

As far as the Bergamn responses, please, don't even go there. ALL REGION DVDs are available of these on Tartan!!!!

After the Rehersal
All These Women
Devil's Eye
Devil's Wanton
Dreams
A Lesson in Love
The Magician
Monika
Music in Darkness
Secrets of Women
Summer Interlude
The Touch

The few others there are minor beyond even the aspirations of the world's most fervant Bergman fanatics, and have not yet made it to DVD, which in the large sphere is no great catastrophe. What we want and need from Bergman is with us now, with the exception of those two I originally mentioned, one of which is on Tartan anyway. So it's really FACE TO FACE only!!!

April 4, 2010 5:42 PM
Sam Juliano said...
"I didn't say that Criterion has now lessened their brand, that they should have consulted me first, that this product should be boycotted."

Aye, Mike, aye. I thought it was oobvious I was employing deliberate sarcasm when I made the assertions I did to pound home my point. You are obviously bothered enough to respond in kind. Fair enough.

As you can see, Sam uses a lot of words in order to do exactly what he accuses me of doing in my initial post, which is to declare that any opinion other than his own is completely wrong. He refers to the "best bloggers" as if his own word is the authority under which great bloggers are deemed to be so and refers to the critics awards the film recieved as if those awards mean that everyone should automatically love the film. Sam seems to be one of those fellows who doesn't realize that a good film (which Summer Hours is) and a film he likes are not the same thing, which has afforded him the delusion that his voice has an authority that reigns over all others and expresses opinions to which everyone in the blog world should agree with. I'm reminded of the times in which Jim Emerson picked fights with Jonathan Rausenbaum because Rausenbaum expressed opinions that didn't conform exactly to his own. Sam also apperently is so gifted in his infinite wisdom that he knows the context under which I left my original comment despite my suggesting to the contrary. Not only does he speak for every critic in the known universe but he apperently speaks for me as well. I can't imagine the burden such power comes with.

Then Sam makes a statement of profound ignorance. Apperently while he was neglecting his five children on Easter Sunday to argue a worthless point with me, he failed to do the proper research it would have taken to make a statement about how Summer Hours has recieved a better critical rating than all of the films I deemed more worthy of Criterion release. Remember, Summer Hours sits at a comfortable 92% on the Tomato Meter. But look at this:

Best of Youth- 95%

Shotgun Stories- 93%

Chop Shop- 96%

Nobody Knows- 94%

Saraband- 94%

Looking over the entire dialogue it appears to me that what Sam's problem is is that he is simply blinded by his committment to the status quo. He first claims that every online critic gave Summer Hours a glowing review. I found two that didn't, of which he didn't even consider because, of course, they were below his stature. What he meant to say was that every critic that he deemed up to his level or are worthy of his attention gave Summer Hours a glowing review. He's right, the two links which I provided are minor blogs which, I will never return to again but really, when someone makes idiotic, generizled statements, this is the only way to respond. (Note- I have no researched whether this statement is true or not, but considering the tragectory of the entire debate, I suspect some exageration is at play here).

Then he gets into the Bergman matter which leaves me, to this moment, still stracthing my head. First he deems Bergman his favourite filmmaker but then goes on to state that every Bergman film worth watching is already available on DVD. You'd think, if Bergman was your favourite filmmaker, every one of his films, even the obscure ones that don't have the notoriety of the major works, would be worth exploring. Not for Sam, who is of such high pedigree that he can only be bothered with the major works of great filmmakers: the ones already to have been deemed masterpieces by the critical powers that be. I bet however, if a group of the very best online bloggers told him that the Devil's Wanton was a film that just needed to be seen he'd be hunting it down in a heartbeat, as that seems to be the very logic he is basing the entire crux of his argument on.

Then there is the overriding matter of his reliance on Summer Hours winning critics' awards as a gauge to assess the brillance of the film. It's as if he needs the opinions of others in order to justify his own feelings. That, to me, seems like a sign of insecurity. If you have a feeling, and propose an argument to support it than that is all that matters. Awards are prizes given by the elite. They mean nothing to me. If a film is good it is so in spite of the award and if a film is minor an award does not automatically negate said minorness. God forbid anyone ever argue with Sam about a film that hasn't won any awards. He'd acually have to justify his opinion on his own in the absence of statistics and the opinion of other critics to back him up. I can't imagine a feeling more hollow as the point when criticism becomes more about following the pack than experessing a personal experience. Congradulations Sam, the film won many critics awards, which ultimately means that I should be engaging in this debate with them instead of wasting time arguing with the middle man.

That's my final word on this debate. I'm done with. It's silly that this much effort has been given to it to begin with. I'm just curious, am I in the wrong here. Does my inital comment strike anyone as being condescending or provoking in any way? Does anyone agree with Sam or does he strike you the same way he strikes me, as an elitist windbag? Be honest. I'm curious to see how people will weigh in.

A Question on Good Friday

It's Good Friday which, besides the resurrection of Jesus and all that nice stuff means little to me as I get Friday's off anyway. Bummer.

Regardless, remember a week or so ago when James Cameron was talking about how soon so many movies will be in 3D that no one will care because the gimmick will lose it's specificity and people will just be bored by it? That time seems to be coming sooner than later.

It was reported today on /Film that there is plans for a fourth theatrical American Pie movie, which would pick up where American Wedding left off with most of the original cast returning (forgetting those 4 stupid direct-to-video American Pie Presents movies). It's apparently being written and directed by the two guys who wrote the Harold and Kumar movies. Oh yeah, and it might be in 3D.

Now, I know 3D is the hot commodity right now and all and it seems to have gotten to the point where studios feel their movies must be in 3D just to compete at the box office (which explains this whole Clash of the Titans post-production "fake" 3D conversion process) but really, is anyone out there going to see this just because of 3D?

Not only is it a comedy, but it's an established brand name series. What could 3D possibly add to American Pie that would propel anyone but those who would see it anyway to buy tickets? I don't know, am I so out of touch with the whole 3D craze that I'm just not getting it and people are actually excited by this news or does this just seem like one step closer to the inevitable demise of either 3D, Hollywood blockbusters or both?

One Minute Review: It Might Get Loud (3 out of 5)

I have no idea how Fellini filmed the opening sequence of 8 1/2 where Guido flies above the beach, being tethered to Earth by no more than a string around his ankle that is being held by his producers. Sure, I could read a book on Fellini or look it up somewhere online, but I don't want to know because the more I know about it the more it feels like filmmaking and the less like magic. That's the feeling I got while watching It Might Get Loud, which strikes me as the kind of documentary that may be enjoyed more by people who care less about filmmaking and more about music.

The film follows around three big name guitarists (Jimmy Page, Jack White and the Edge) as they recount how they started on the guitar, how they found their sound, what their first guitar was, their musical history and so on. Sometimes these memories are conveyed on their own and sometimes in the middle of a three-way jam session between each of the men. Guitar players will find the film interesting in that it shows their heroes breaking down their craft, but one is ultimately left wondering at the end just what the film was trying to achieve as it strikes an uneasy balance between deciding if it should be about the guitar itself of the men who have made their names playing it. In the end it kind of feels like something you'd watch on VH1 on a bored afternoon when you couldn't muster the ambition to do anything else.

Note- in case the opening comment wasn't clear enough: I cannot play the guitar but am thoroughly fascinated by those who can do so well.