Take This Waltz, and Flint Lockwood revisited - Reviews #139

Lately, I've been really spoilt in my movie-watching - different to having my movie-watching spoilt, as has happened at times this year - and this new, indescribably tiny batch of films is no different. Take This Waltz is now my second favourite movie of 2012 (going by UK release dates), trailing just behind last week's Silver Linings Playbook, and the fun doesn't stop (or really start) there. It goes marginally further. So join me, as I take you on a journey to a TV with an accompanying DVD player.



*SPOILERS*
Take This Waltz (Sarah Polley, 2011) - Is happiness just about finding the right person? That's the question posed by Sarah Polley's fiercely intelligent new drama, a grown-up, adult film about a failing relationship, and the possibility of a new and better one, powered by a staggeringly brilliant performance from Michelle Williams. She's a wannabe writer, married to kind, gentle Seth Rogen, but experiencing an intense five-year itch which she thinks free-spirited artist Luke Kirby may be able to scratch – if she just can summon the courage to act. Beginning mysteriously, ending ambiguously and overflowing with symbolism, foreshadowing and existential angst, Polley's film is distinctive and bracingly original, with an unshakeable sense of conviction, an unflinching approach to storytelling and an unforgettable pay-off. It's a film with something to say and the talent to say it, armed with spellbinding imagery, an ambitious script and a sublime song score. And even its rom-com interludes feel new: the zingy badinage and mutual goofing twisted beyond all recognition by the torrent of emotions beneath the surface.

It isn't a flawless film. It's built on a rather feeble coincidence (the adultery interest lives right across the road), some of Polley's dialogue is too mannered, Kirby is never more than adequate (and he drives a rickshaw – what?), while Sarah Silverman's character exists only as a metaphor and rhetorical device. But films don't have to be flawless to be truly great. This is a movie that really moved me: philosophically invigorating, true to life and as painful as a knee to the nuts. Which other film has characters who are "afraid of being afraid"? Which romances tell you, "In the big picture, life has a gap in it, it just does. You don't go crazy trying to fill it"? Where else do characters re-connect so sweetly, only to fall away so completely? Rogen is great, building on the promise he showed in 50/50 and Freaks and Geeks' The Little Things, but no-one working today can keep pace with Williams. This is a wondrous film, and its beating heart is a perfect performance from the most exciting actor on the planet. (4)

This is an expanded version of a review that I wrote for MovieMail.

See also: Williams also had mo' marriages, mo' problems in Blue Valentine, one of my favourites of last year.

***



Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Phil Lord and Chris Miller, 2009)[/b]

Manny: "You are going to need a co-pilot."
Sam: "You are a pilot too?"
Manny: "Yes. I am also a particle physicist."
Sam: "Really?"
Manny: "No, that was a joke. I am also a comedian."

The best non-Pixar animation to come out of America last decade is just as delicious second time around: a barrage of brilliant jokes (and oversized foodstuffs), bouncing off an appealing romance and a touching father-son subplot, as inventor Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader) makes it rain food, unfortunately endangering the world. Its characters are superbly drawn, its action sequences are masterfully conceived and just about every gag is judged to perfection, several nailing the quiet absurdities of 21st century life in a way that few films master. It doesn't need non-sequiturs (the fall-back for any failing animation), because it's got something better: sensational comic timing and the most spectacular set of running gags I can remember. It's also admirably fearless - it isn't afraid to get soppy, or post-modern, or really and genuinely weird - but sharp and streamlined too. Everything serves the story. Even the bit where a monkey called Steve, who's wearing a thought-translator, pulls out the heart of a malevolent gummy bear and eats it. (4)

See also: For their next trick, Lord and Miller rebooted (i.e. gave a kick up the arse to) 21 Jump Street. Cloudy 2 has been confirmed for 2013. Boo, and indeed, yah.

Review of 2010

Hello, it's been a while. Yes it has. But then I've been pretty busy, and there's still no-one paying me to do this (I know, extraordinary). Since most of us don't just watch films from the year we're currently in, here's a more realistic review of the year - a quick wrap up of the best stuff I saw in 2010. If you want to skip the stats and cut to the capsule round-up, you'll find it near the bottom. Haha. Bottom.

Top 100 of 2010

Features (>40 mins) - first viewings in bold


New view of the year: Elia Kazan's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

1. Remember the Night (Mitchell Leisen, 1940) (4)
2. Cinema Paradiso: Director's Cut (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988/2002)
3. Metropolitan (Whit Stillman, 1990)
4. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Elia Kazan, 1945)
5. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
6. Ball of Fire (Howard Hawks, 1941)
7. The Human Comedy (Clarence Brown, 1943)
8. My Darling Clementine – Pre Release Version (John Ford, 1946)
9. Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)
10. It's Love I'm After (Archie Mayo, 1937)

11. Heaven Can Wait (Ernst Lubitsch, 1943)
12. Låt den rätte komma in (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) aka Let the Right One In
13. Roman Holiday (William Wyler, 1953)
14. One Sunday Afternoon (Stephen Roberts, 1933)
15. Pickup on South Street (Samuel Fuller, 1953)
16. High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952)
17. Pygmalion (Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard, 1938)
18. Separate Tables (Delbert Mann, 1958)
19. The Road (John Hillcoat, 2009)
20. Partie de campagne (Jean Renoir, 1936)

21. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
22. The Secret of Roan Inish (John Sayles, 1994)
23. Menschen am Sonntag (Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer, 1929) aka People on Sunday
24. La gloire de mon père (Yves Robert, 1990) aka My Father's Glory
25. Trouble in Paradise (Ernst Lubitsch, 1932)
26. Il Gattopardo (Luchino Visconti, 1963) aka The Leopard
27. The Chorus (Christophe Barratier, 2004)
28. Lady for a Day (Frank Capra, 1933)
29. Little Voice (Mark Herman, 1998)
30. Trees Lounge (Steve Buscemi, 1996)

31. Withnail & I (Bruce Robinson, 1987)
32. One, Two, Three (Billy Wilder, 1961)
33. Mona Lisa (Neil Jordan, 1986)
34. Quai des Orfèvres (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1947)
35. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010) (Cinema)
36. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Phil Lord and Chris Miller, 2009)
37. La Haine (Matthieu Kassovitz, 1995)
38. It's a Great Feeling (David Butler, 1949)
39. Tirez sur le pianiste (François Truffaut, 1960) aka Shoot the Piano Player
40. X2 (Bryan Singer, 2003)

41. Glengarry Glen Ross (James Foley, 1992)
42. Election (Alexander Payne, 1999)
43. Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (Susanna White, 2010) (Cinema)
44. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream (Peter Bogdanovich, 2007)
45. Confessions of Boston Blackie (Edward Dmytryk, 1941)
46. Midnight Run (Martin Brest, 1988)
47. Gumshoe (Stephen Frears, 1971)
48. Smart Woman (Gregory La Cava, 1931)
49. Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, 2008)
50. A Guy Named Joe (Victor Fleming, 1943)

51. The History Boys (Nicholas Hytner, 2006)
52. Big Time (Chris Blum, 1988)
53. That's the Spirit (Charles Lamont, 1945)
54. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) (3.5)
55. Major Barbara (Gabriel Pascal, 1941)
56. Tin Men (Barry Levinson, 1987)
57. Bridge to Terabithia (Gabor Csupo, 2007)
58. Le château de ma mere (Yves Robert, 1990) aka My Mother's Castle
59. The Sure Thing (Rob Reiner, 1985)
60. Wah-Wah (Richard E. Grant, 2005)

61. Love in the Afternoon (Billy Wilder, 1957)
62. Toy Story (John Lasseter, 1995)
63. Folies Bergère de Paris (Roy Del Ruth, 1935)
64. A Royal Scandal (Ernst Lubitsch, 1945)
65. Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007)
66. La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1998) aka The Legend of 1900
67. Smart Blonde (Frank MacDonald, 1937)
68. Isle of the Dead (Mark Robson, 1945)
69. My Sister Eileen (Richard Quine, 1955)
70. Babe (Chris Noonan, 1995)

71. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)
72. Frost/Nixon (Ron Howard, 2008)
73. The Amazing Mr. Blunden (Lionel Jeffries, 1972)
74. The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry, 2006)
75. Cry of the City (Robert Siodmak, 1948)
76. Capitalism: A Love Story (Michael Moore, 2009)
77. The Big Combo (Joseph H. Lewis, 1955)
78. Mesrine: L'ennemi public n°1 (Jean-François Richet, 2008) aka Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1
79. Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (Steve Roberts, 1980)
80. Three Godfathers (Richard Boleslawski, 1936)

81. Kiss Them for Me (Stanley Donen, 1957)
82. Pushing Tin (Mike Newell, 1999)
83. Educating Rita (Lewis Gilbert, 1983)
84. In the Shadow of the Moon (David Sington, 2007)
85. Drillbit Taylor (Steven Brill, 2008)
86. Torrid Zone (William Keighley, 1940)
87. Tom, Dick and Harry (Garson Kanin, 1941)
88. Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1963)
89. Topkapi (Jules Dassin, 1964)
90. Toy Story 2 (John Lasseter and Ash Brannon, 1999)

91. Four Lions (Chris Morris, 2010) (Cinema)
92. Station West (Sidney Lanfield, 1948)
93. Atlantic City (Louis Malle, 1980)
94. Happy Go Lovely (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1951)
95. A Bug's Life (John Lasseter, 1998)
96. Stanno tutti bene (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1990) aka Everybody's Fine
97. (500) Days of Summer (Marc Webb, 2009)
98. The Night My Number Came Up (Leslie Norman, 1955)
99. The Big Easy (Jim McBride, 1986)
100. Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)

Total films seen: 304

Decade-by-decade breakdown:

1920s: 2
1930s: 46
1940s: 53
1950s: 35
1960s: 18
1970s: 11
1980s: 21
1990s: 35
2000s: 75
2010s: 8

Rewatches: 42
Premieres (oh, alright, "first viewings"): 262

Assorted trivia:


Craze: Owen Wilson.

FILM
Crazes of the year: Wendy Hiller, Giuseppe Tornatore, Pixar, Owen Wilson, Michel Gondry, Glenda Farrell, John Cusack.
Continuing preoccupations: Jason Robards, Jr., Lee Tracy, Emily Watson, John Sayles, spotty '80s action-comedies.
Revelation of the year: Leslie Howard - with comedy, a magician. Not so hot at drama, as we know.
Stuff I caught up on: Comic book films, Judd Apatow, '90s British comedy-dramas.
Happiest surprises: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (4) - which I'd hyped up quite a lot as it was - finding out that My Darling Clementine (4) was even better before Zanuck's uncharacteristically duff meddling, Let the Right One In (4), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (4), Drillbit Taylor (3.5), Little Voice (4) and the unheralded Wah-Wah (3.5), with Nicholas Hoult somehow matching Emily Watson's usual pyrotechnics. I found a new Thank Your Lucky Stars/Road to Morocco in the shape of It's a Great Feeling (4).
Biggest disappointments: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2.5), The Proud Valley (2.5), revisiting I'm All Right Jack to discover that I don't really like it anymore (2.5), much of Fellini's Roma (2), the stiltedness of Shanghai Express (2) (some breathtaking religious imagery aside), the second halves of Kick-Ass (3) and Le mépris (2), virtually all of Tati's interminable Play Time (1.5).
Some favourite moments: Peggy Ryan cutting loose with an exuberant dance number in That's the Spirit, Bill Nighy's monologue in Shaun of the Dead, a man putting another man in a bin in The Science of Sleep, James Dunn at the piano in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Wendy Hiller saying "Not bloody likely" in Pygmalion, Big Spender from Little Voice, Michael and Vito's talk in the garden in The Godfather, Glenda Farrell saying, "I love you for doing this" in Lady for a Day, Edward G. Robinson's cameo in It's a Great Feeling and the final moments of Quai des Orfèvres.
Favourite joke (excluding all the ones I laugh at every year): Either "Lilliput!" from Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, or Dakin in The History Boys, talking about busy schedules.
Best film I saw at the cinema: Toy Story 3.

OTHER
Best TV movie: The Iceman Cometh (Sidney Lumet, 1960).
Best TV series: Press Gang (Various, 1989-1993), written by Steven Moffat.
Best gigs: Suede at the Royal Albert Hall, Ross Noble at the Grand Opera House, York.
Best goal: Matty Burrows, for Glentoran against Portadown.
Worst meal: Gone-off Quorn Lasagne (one mouthful).

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Shorts (Top 10)

1. Presto (Doug Sweetland, 2008) (4)
2. Lifted (Gary Rydstrom, 2006)
3. DTV: Cracking Contraptions (Loyd Price and Christopher Sadler, 2002) (4)
4. Knick Knack (John Lasseter, 1989/2003) (3.5)
5. Field and Scream (Tex Avery, 1955)
6. Boundin' (Bud Luckey and Roger Gould, 2003)
7. DTV: BURN-E (Angus MacLane, 2008) (3)
8. One Man Band (Mark Andrews and Andrew Jimenez, 2005)
9. A Few Moments With Eddie Cantor (Lee DeForest, 1923)
10. Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson, 1992)

Total shorts seen: 37 (all first viewings)