Synecdoche, New York
I was determined that, after watching this movie, I wouldn't be as befuddled as everyone else seems to be when they see it. And frankly, I failed. It seems that with each of these Charlie Kaufman films I never quite get invested in the story and seem to always think about what possibly could go through Kaufman's mind in envisioning these films. After watching one of the DVD features, Kaufman was described as an auteur and he is one in every sense of the word. While the auteur theory seems to apply to directors more often than not, Kaufman established himself as one through his sheer bizarre writings and now, with this film, established himself from the director's chair.I kept thinking to myself throughout the film how cool the idea is: to look at oneself truly, one has to build a replica of his life and observe himself. I think the movie is generally about observing oneself from the outside similar to how posthumous narrators in movies like Sunset Blvd. and American Beauty seem to revel in their pathetic existence but I couldn't quite grasp everything that Kaufman was throwing at me. Wikipedia tells me the significance of motifs like the burning house but I don't think my mind can wrap itself around these things (sidenote: I REALLY need to stop consulting wikipedia while I watch movies). There is no denying my respect for the film and for pretty much anything PSH does but I never seem to able to understand Kaufman.
Grade: C+
Kill Me Again
As part of my film noir class, we've finally reached the neo-noir section and I'm loving it. Michael Madsen is the true modern embodiment of the noir actor and Val Kilmer does a quaint job filling in the gumshoe character established by Bogie et al. I think Joanne Whaley is trying to be a femme fatale but tends to fail and just be more of a nuissance and a damsel in distress, even when she shoots Jack Andrews (such a gumshoe name) at the end. I was surprised that I had never hear of this John Dahl fellow beforehand but you can really tell how much he loves film noir and this film only proves how the noir has to be adapted so hard for it to work in modern society. It's not that I didn't like the movie, I just didn't feel the dark tones of a true noir and instead only got the general plotline of one.Thematically, though, it's a pretty good homage to the themes of the golden age. The desert provides a haunting backdrop for the existentialist, isolationist ideas that makes noir so gritty. By the end of the film, these were relatively thrown out in favor of James Bond action sequences even down to the bad guys driving their car into a gas thing and exploding. (It even had the 80s Timothy Dalton look to it.) I think this is a good debut for John Dahl and I look forward to seeing his other movies like Red Rock West and The Last Seduction which I hear are quite good.
Grade: B
Groundog Day
Words cannot begin to describe how much I loved this movie. Every second I think about it I like it more and more. I think my favorite part about it is the fact that the overall message is nothing that hasn't already been tred upon in films like The Christmas Carol: A Bad man finds himself frozen in time and reflects upon the life he has led. I have found that Harold Ramis can do no wrong (leading to my ever increasing expectations for Year One this Summer) and he shapes this film with as little cynicism as possible (except of course coming from the mouth of the legendary Bill Murray). And that's where this reflection begins and ends: with Bill Murray.I like to think that the audience's emotional roller coaster follows the same path as Phil Conners as he slowly goes from comedic to tragic to hopeful about his predicament (by the way, I love that we never know why he's repeating the same day; it doesn't matter). Bill Murray manages to make every scene he is in somewhat comedic, dramatic, and tragic all at the same quirky time. I honestly felt invested in his tribulations, something that rarely happens to me, and felt generally ecstatic at the end (although I wish the movie would go on as long as Phil Conners' day). Best line by far: "Don't drive angry. Do not drive angry." I found out that Tom Hanks was wanted by Ramis for the film and Hanks said that the audience couldn't see him as a bad man so it wouldn't work. Murray is the rarest of actors: likeable and unlikeable, funny and sad, great and bad, all at the same time.
Grade: A
Seven Pounds
WHAT? That's all I can really say about this. Will Smith and Rosario Dawson do a good job but this movie was doomed when the writer thought of the idea. All I will write is questions: Why the jellyfish? Couldn't his brother have come earlier? Why is everyone crying the entire time? Barry Pepper? Woody Harrelson? Why is it so obvious that he's going to die from the beginning? Why does the editing suck? Why do Rosario and Woody cry and hug without any other words? WHY DIDN'T ANYONE STOP WILL SMITH FROM DOING THIS? (This refers to both the actor and to his character in the film)Grade: D
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