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The appeal of sports movies baffles me. I don't say that because I don't like them, I say that because it seems that I do like them. I don't actively go out and watch sports matches, but somehow, there is something about sports movies (ones from the 1990s in particular) that can really get me caught up in the film. There's obvious things like wanting the team/player (aka the good guy) to win, and the battle to win is usually very blatantly played out in the championship game or whatever it is that serves as the climax to the film, and the pay off of the good guy winning is satisfied with the definite acknowledgement of a trophy/medal/glory/valuable moral lesson/whatever.
But why do I, someone who doesn't remotely care about actual sports games when they're on TV, care? Good writing and acting is always a contributing factor, but the subject matter is rather removed from my interests. Perhaps I'll have this figured out by the time I watch Remember The Titans.
Recently, I watched the series "Fringe" in its entirety, which stars Joshua Jackson as a mostly concerned and problem solving character. So watching Champions was partly fascinating just to be reminded of just how damn charming he is as an actor. No wonder he was cast. As a child actor, he was pretty great and, cheesy as it is, he gives the film heart.
Final Thought: I don't understand why they thought this film couldn't be called The Mighty Ducks in the UK and Australia...
Up Next: Charade (1963)
In the year 2000, Center Stage and Coyote Ugly were both released cinematically, and though neither were brilliant films, they captured the attention of my circle of friends. We saw each of these movies at the cinema multiple times. I couldn't even tell you why, to be honest, but we just kept going back.
Center Stage, while showcasing some rather unimpressive acting, is admirable for casting actual dancers. My two major peeves in cinema are musical instruments being played with blatantly wrong technique (see August Rush) and terrible dancing being portrayed as great dancing (see The Artist). So in this instance, I am more than willing to forgive bad acting for the sake of seeing ballet danced properly.
Final Thought: Despite the multiple times I have seen this film, my memory of it pales in comparison to The Seamstress. She can quote this word for word.
Up Next: Champions (1992)
I bought this film without having seen it, purely because it was Studio Ghibli. It was at a time when I was buying a Ghibli film a week, and my decisions were based entirely on the DVD cover. I didn't realise at the time that The Cat Returns wasn't made by Hayao Miyazaki himself, so sadly it isn't quite of the same calibre of the Miyazaki's films. That said, it's still a lovely, peaceful little film.
It beats you about the head with the moral a bit, but I can forgive that in a Ghibli film for some reason. The thing with these films is that I feel like I can't look away. Not because the plot is complicated and I might miss something, but because they're just so visually stunning that I'd hate to miss anything.
Final Thought: The soundtrack is oddly jovial in moments of upset.
Up Next: Centre Stage (2000)
One of my first jobs growing up was at my local video store, at the time that the shift from VHS to DVD was happening. I watched as our shelves shifted from being mainly filled with videos to gradually being overrun by DVDs. And one of the great things about my video store was that they purchased all sorts movies. Not just the popular ones that would bring in money, but also those that regulars might want. So our collection was huge. You could find anything there. Despite this, my video store went out of business. A new, profit focussed chain store opened up down the road not long after, and they built up their catalogue by buying the one that my childhood store had painstakingly collected. Cheaters.
I realised, after a couple of years, that many of my favourite films from my childhood weren't likely to end up on DVD, so if I ever wanted to see them again, I'd need to hunt them down on VHS from my childhood video store's original collection. Since many of these films were a little obscure and not exactly profitable, the new video store would easily sell them. And that is how I ended up with the very same VHS copy of The Cat From Outer Space that I had watched dozens of times as a young child. So many times that I can even remember the melody of each line of dialogue in the trailers preceding the movie.
I'm not even sure what specifically it was that drew me to this film so much, other than the fact that there was an anthropomorphised cat in it. But I was possibly the only person who ever hired this from my local store.
Strangely enough, 4 years or so in to our friendship, I randomly mentioned this film in conversation with one of my closest friends, only to have her respond enthusiastically, much to my surprise. I have never met anyone else who has seen this movie. We decided to watch it together, but ended up dozing off.
As an adult, it kinda drags a little. But it's so familiar and comfortable and silly. A cat. From outer space. With a glowing collar that allows him to communicate with humans. Who else would come up with such a thing but Disney in the 70s.
Final Thought: The protaganists in these sort of films have a tendency to be conveniently accepting of the circumstances into which they are thrust. If they wasted too much time with skepticism, the film couldn't move forward. Alien cat with a magical collar? Sure, I'll help you break in to an army base. ...Seriously??
Up Next: The Cat Returns (2002)
This was the first time I watched this film. And as I carry on with this project, I find that it's more difficult for me to write about films to which I have no emotional attachment. So despite this being hailed as one of the best films ever made, I don't actually have a great deal to say about it. It was interesting to finally get around to watching this, and it is, of course a very good film, but I think I'll need to watch it again for it to move me. On this initial viewing, I was merely trying to keep up with what was happening. The majority of the films I've seen from this era have been musicals, so it was an adjustment for me to need to keep up with a more complicated plot where the characters don't frequently break in to song. That is something I appreciate about older movies though - so often now movies seem to hold your hand and explain to you very slowly what is happening, rather than giving you enough credit to be able to figure it out yourself. It's more satisfying when it's not painstakingly spelled out to you, and it allows you to interpret things in a way that is meaningful to you, rather than being beaten over the head with what the maker's intention was. And isn't that what art should be? And isn't film a form of art?
Final Thought: You see so many images of Humphrey Bogart, but seeing him as a movie star is quite striking. It was bordering on alien for me to see a moving, speaking version of him. And as for the film itself, the lines from it are pretty much cliche now, so it's interesting to see them in context.
Up Next: The Cat From Outer Space (1978)
Captain America: The First Avenger is fine. It's not fantastic, it's not awful, it's fine.
Chris Evans is actually perfect for the role, from what I can tell (not having read the comics). I would love to see him pushed in more challenging roles than those he's done so far. And Hugo Weaving is
surprisingly restrained playing such a ridiculous character, which is
good I guess, because it would be easy to take it too far.
There seems to be an element missing to connect the montages and action sequences to the emotion of the story. So it's a bit disjointed to me. I actually prefer the origin part of the tale rather than once the action kicks in to gear, which is not the norm for this type of film.
Final Thought: Skinny, short Chris Evans? CGI is freaky.
Up Next: Casablanca (1942)
Can't Hardly Wait was a staple of my high school movie nights. I can remember watching it for the first time at a sleepover, never having heard of it before. My friends and I spent the following two years quoting it to each other at every opportunity, and playing the soundtrack at any party we hosted. We bonded over this movie more than many other things in the time we were in high school.
More than a decade later, this film is still just as fresh in my mind.
The thing is, I'm not quite sure how to explain why this film in particular rose above all the similarly themed movies of my teenage years. Perhaps it's that the characters are almost caricatures of the stereotypes they represent. Almost. They toe that line, so they still seem like real people, which means that the film doesn't get unbearable.
In my opinion, this was the best high school party movie of the 90s crop, and frankly, I've yet to see a movie made since that can stand up to it.
Final Thought: I HAVE NO LEGS!!!
Up Next: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
It's a bit too general to say that I don't like horror films. I don't quite know how to explain my relationship with them. I can't stand gore, so that rules out a majority of them. Some friends once decided that I simply had to see one of the Saw films, and I spent pretty much the entire movie with my face buried in to the couch. I still haven't forgiven them for that.
And yet... when a horror film is witty and thrilling and clever and suspenseful, I can't help but be lured in. It's terrible, but I can't help myself.
The Cabin In The Woods is the perfect example of the sort of horror film that I can't resist. It's written by Joss Whedon, so there's that. It confuses you because you'll simultaneously want to squeal in fear and laugh hysterically, and you just don't have enough breath for both, so you end up wheezing in a confused fashion.
The best thing about this film is that I went to see it with no knowledge beyond the fact that it was written by Whedon. This film is more glorious the less you know about it the first time you see it.
Seeing The Cabin In The Woods also coincided with my first visit to the Astor Theatre in Melbourne - a wonderful movie theatre that is a must for film buffs. The Astor Theatre loves film. And you couldn't ask for a better audience to experience this movie for the first time. We jumped in fright and laughed in relief as one. At one particularly tense, silent moment in the film, an audience member loudly knocked over their drink, causing nervous titters from all present, which quickly turned to shrieks as we were startled.
Final Thought: This is one of a handful of films that, as soon as I've watched it, I instantly want to watch it all over again. Seriously. Right now, writing this, I want to watch it, but that would be a horrible mistake because it's the middle of the night and I'll get spooked and The Bassist isn't nearby and I'm alone and vulnerable and I'll end up having to lock my bedroom door and nervously watch episodes of some inane sitcom until I manage to get to sleep.
But it's so good...
Up Next: Can't Hardly Wait (1998)
Computer animation evolved very quickly, and aged very quickly as a result. This is forgivable though, when presented with an enchanting story. And A Bug's Life uses the classic mistaken identity plot to tell a charming tale.
The writers are clever in the grand problems they create for such small creatures. The shift in scale is part of what's so interesting about the movie. The world in which it occurs is very contained, but you don't even notice until the very end.
Something in particular that I noticed - too often, applause is used as a cheap payoff gimmick in films. Not here. The ovation by the characters at the end is powerful in a way that I don't recall ever seeing in a live action movie.
Final Thought: I do insist that, before watching any Pixar film in my collection, one must first watch the short that accompanies it in order to make the viewing experience complete.
Up Next: The Cabin In The Woods (2012)
Buffy is bangin'.
This used to be my definition of a scary movie, back when I was having sleep overs in primary school. Now, I'd almost call it a comfort movie, like a bowl of pasta. It's interesting to go back and pick out early examples of Joss Whedon's humour. I wonder how the film would have turned out, had he been able to guide it in the way he wanted.
Though I'm a loyal fan of the TV series, Kristy Swanson was actually really good as Buffy. She strikes a good balance between light-hearted vapid and taking her fate seriously. And her martial arts is passable. Luke Perry's, however, is not. And Rutger Hauer's violin playing is awful.
Tell you what, if their movie depictions are anything to go by, cheerleaders sure have changed since the 90s.
Final Thought: Not everyone agrees with me, but Paul Reubens' death scene is one of the best things to ever happen in a movie.
Up Next: A Bug's Life (1998)
I bought this film because it has Mark Dacascos in it. Watching it again, there really is no other reason that I have it. It drags. It is so very long. It's visually absolutely beautiful, but surely the length could have been trimmed. I am certain that I've seen this film at least twice, yet there are entire sections of it that I don't recall at all. It was a bit fascinating to discover all the layers of the plot the I somehow didn't notice.
Final Thought: Dacascos has done so many B grade martial arts flicks, it's lovely to see him in something of this quality.
Up Next: Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992)
A teen movie playing at cinema noir? Donnie Darko playing at detective? What saves this film for me is that, despite the dark subject matter, it has the occasional moment that reminds you that these are, after all, kids. This is an interesting film to watch immediately after having seen The Breakfast Club, I will say that. Rian Johnson is a bleak director, yeesh.
Final Thought: I'm left unsure of what to say after this film. You use half of your attention to translate their language, and the other half to keep track of the plot, so by the end of it you're a bit tired.
Up Next: Brotherhood Of The Wolf (2001)
Not many of the high school set films made at the moment will still be relevant in 30 years. Not many teen films come close to those of John Hughes.
I think the difference is that this film doesn't try too hard. A run through the school, a dance around the library... it doesn't need to be extreme. It's about who the kids are and how they get to know each other. Why they behave the way they do, why they conform to the stereotypes they've adopted. It's about understanding them, which I feel is why this film is such a classic, and why it resounds for so many people. Teenagers want to be understood, and this film takes the time to do that.
The scene where the characters tell why they are in detention is famous for being unscripted, yet it's so moving and provoking. By trusting them to ad-lib that scene, Hughes caught something raw and honest, which is so often missing amidst the hijinks and extremes employed by most teen films. And Hughes shows that the great mistake Mr Vernon makes is in demanding respect without giving it to these kids, and not even attempting to understand them.
Every time I watch this film, I am once again surprised by how good it is.
Final Thought: If you're going to call them The Breakfast Club, at least reference it at some point in the film before the final line...
Up Next: Brick (2005)
Watching Breakfast At Tiffany's makes me wish I had studied the novel at school. I know that the film changes certain plot elements, particularly the ending, but I would be curious to pick apart the book. The films leaves me feeling somewhat similar to how I did when I finished reading "The Catcher In The Rye", except that I loathed that book.
I bought this film because it's one of those classics that I thought I should have. Incidentally, that's the only reason I read "The Catcher In The Rye" at all, because it's labelled a classic and I thought I should. I guess I expected to be more moved by both. In the case of this film though, I didn't leave with a thorough dislike of it. (I really, REALLY don't like "The Catcher In The Rye"). I will admit though that I feel... indifferent. Perhaps it's partly because, gorgeous as Audrey Hepburn was, she does seem a tad miscast as Holly Golightly. The character is superficial and vague, which is hard to believe of Hepburn. I have trouble connecting with narratives where I can't see why I should care about the characters. I think that Breakfast At Tiffany's is a film that I need to watch repeatedly, in order to uncover Holly's substance.
Final Thought: Having grown up listening to Henry Mancini (as mentioned previously), I find the score to this film very familiar and comforting, so I did enjoy that.
Up Next: The Breakfast Club (1985)
I thought I'd seen this film at least twice.
I was almost right.
I've started it at least twice, and then fallen asleep, been distracted, or had to leave.
This means that I've seen sections of it, but it turns out that I have never seen the end.
That means that, each time I see this, I'm surprised by how great Matt Damon is in an action movie. Matt Damon huh? Who would have thought?
I still feel like I need to watch this film again. I missed some intricacies as I was revelling in merely being conscious for the whole thing. It's a bit terrible that I've fallen asleep in a film so gripping.
It's a great film, it really is, I'm just still a bit unsure of what actually happens. I missed key parts of narrative by exclaiming "Omigod I haven't seen this bit!! Oh things make much more sense now!" And it's not that the film is overly complex, I just have severe gaps in my absorption of it.
I need to be less excitable next time.
Final Thought: Thinking about it now, I still can't actually recall how things tie together. Dammit.
Up Next: Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961)
The Seamstress told me I should watch this film. I fear it was talked up to me a bit too much, but then again, I did watch it whilst making dinner, so I was somewhat distracted for the first portion of it.
It seems a decent film. It didn't change my life or anything, but I did enjoy it. I must admit though, it didn't leave me with a great deal to say about it. The underdog-makes-good storyline is a safe bet to receive audience support.
Alan Rickman's presence elevates the film. Rachael Taylor, though I find her wonderful, her character isn't really there for any particular reason other than to foist irrelevant sexual tension on the tale.
I didn't really connect with it though, so I just... don't have much to say about it.
Final Thought: Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the first half of the film...
Up Next: The Bourne Identity (2002)
In my final years of high school, I had a great English teacher. A teacher who made the syllabus interesting and who didn't expect you to fit in to a mold, but rather wanted you to find your own voice. It was this teacher who one day insisted we go to the cinema and see Billy Elliot. He also insisted that we go see Fight Club, but that will come later.
So I went to the cinema, not really knowing what to expect of this film, and within the first minute I loved it. Billy is endearing before he even says anything. Dancing is just something that he happens to find himself doing, though it is bewildering for everyone else in his life, and he is more than aware of that.
I think I like this film because it isn't self conscious. It's just frank. Yes, kids pick up on more about their parents than they realise. Yes, you're more likely to get through to a kid if you talk to them as an equal. And yes, dancing is pretty great.
Final Thought: Just how many family issues could be solved by dancing it out?
Up Next: Bottle Shock (2008)
This is another film that I didn't like the first time I watched it. Perhaps I watched it just after having seen Edward Scissorhands for the first time. I was so blown away by Edward Scissorhands, way more than I expected to be (more on that when I get to it). So I did Big Fish a disservice by watching it soon afterwards. I came at it with expectations and it didn't fit in to them.
Then, a few years later, every second blog I read seemed to rave about this film. Coincidence or something, I don't know, but for a month I felt like all these writers I didn't know were telling me that I simply had to give Big Fish another chance. I did so, and couldn't understand what I hadn't liked about it the first time around.
The most beautiful thing about this movie is that it champions the oral tradition. It's all about the telling and passing down of stories. Of taking the time to tell them and listening to them. Of how important they are in the building of a child's imagination and how stories can connect families and friends. The sight of everyone telling stories at the funeral is wonderful.
Then there's the recurrence of "This isn't how I die". And the popcorn moment, which is stunning. And the moment in the bath... It's not often that you see such relaxed romance between older couples in films. Or couples of any age for that matter.
There's actually so many things I love about this film that it is an utter mystery to me that I didn't enjoy it the first time around. This movie inspires me. There is wonder in it. It makes me want to go for a walk.
Final Thought: I swear, Danny DeVito missed his calling. He should have been a ringmaster.
Up Next: Billy Elliot (2000)
I just... don't like this film very much. I would normally assume that I watched it due to liking Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, but that can't be the case because Being John Malkovich came out first and I definitely saw it at the cinema. And I don't even think I liked it then, so I must have bought it purely because John Cusack was in it. This was not a Be Kind Rewind experience - I did not enjoy it more the second time at all. All I kept thinking as I watched it was "Did I really enjoy this the first time I saw it? Why do I own this?? Everything is just so uncomfortable..."
It's really quite bizarre to have John Malkovich be the most likeable character in a film. Not to be insulting, but it's really against the grain for him and I'm not sure it's intentional. I enjoyed this film the most whenever he was on screen, and his exploration of his own subconscious is very inventive.
All in all though, I dislike this film. It'll be going to the second hand store tomorrow.
Final Thought: It is interesting to see story elements in this film that Charlie Kaufman clearly managed to make more successful in Eternal Sunshine.
Up Next: Big Fish (2003)
This is easily one of my top three childhood films. It is as comforting and familiar to me as the smell of my father's cooking. Angela Lansbury is just wonderful, and I was always amazed by films that combined animation with live action. I was amazed by how they managed to put real people together with something that I knew was created on paper. It seemed extremely clever to me and I was fascinated by any film where it occurred (which led me to watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit? as a kid; a decision I regretted. That steamroller scene was upsetting).
I regularly hired the video from my local store and knew it back to front, but upon purchasing the 25th anniversary DVD, it turns out that there was a lot more to the story than was shown in the initial version that I saw. There are quite a few songs that weren't in the video I saw as a kid, and the extended Portobello Rd dance sequence is lovely. I mentioned previously that I resented the addition of a song to my DVD copy of Beauty and the Beast ("Human Again" wasn't in the original version, and I don't feel that the film flows smoothly in to it, so it jars my viewing experience), but I must say that the additional scenes in Bedknobs and Broomsticks work for me. They give the characters more depth. As a kid, I particularly never understood why Emelius suddenly shacked up with Miss Price at the end, but with the extended version their quiet affection for each other is shown and so it all makes sense.
Final Thought: It often happens that, as an adult, you'll go back and watch a film or TV show you loved as a kid and realise that it was actually a bit messed up. It somehow didn't seem that way to you when you were young. Yet with Bedknobs and Broomsticks, I always thought the deflation of the suits of armour most creepy, even as a child.
Up Next: Being John Malkovich (1999)
I remember there being a fuss about this movie when it was released. The fact that computers were used to partly animate the ballroom scene was a big deal. It seemed so strange to me at the time that a person would use a computer for animation. I knew that making a cartoon involved several pieces of paper that you drew on and then flicked between a lot. The idea of using a computer for that was just weird.
I went to see this film at the cinema and just loved Belle. She was bookish, brunette and inquisitive, which I found appealing. I also loved the music theatre nature of the soundtrack. The opening theme is gorgeous and the songs have such entertaining lyrics ("I use antlers in all of my decorating...").
I do wonder though, how much of the furniture in the castle was just furniture? If it was entirely furnished with the staff in their transformed state, what did they do once everyone was human again?
Final Thought: Thinking back, "inventor" was a common profession according to 90s films...
Up Next: Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
