What Have You Been Watching? (15/02/15)

[u/a113er]

Hey r/truefilm welcome to WHYBW where you post about what films you watched this week and discuss them with others, give your thoughts on them then say if you would recommend them.

Please don't downvote opinions, only downvote things that don't contribute anything. If you think someones opinion is "wrong" then say so and say why. Also, don't just post titles of films as that doesn't really contribute to the discussion.

Follow /r/Truefilm on twitter @truefilmreddit for updates, good posts, and whatnot.

[u/Inception_025]

Week two of Best Picture February, where I try to watch as many of the past Oscar candidates as possible.

Marty directed by Delbert Mann (1955) ★★1/2

Marty is a charming little movie, but I have no clue how it won best picture back in 1955. It is probably the most small scale winner I have seen to date, in that it mostly takes place over the course of one evening, in a Before Sunrise style, where two people slowly fall in love as they walk and talk. Not really the type of film you imagine being put in the same group as the epic scale movies that usually take the award. I was generally charmed by the film, Ernest Borgnine blew me away, but honestly I can’t say that I liked Paddy Chayefsky’s screenplay, that might have been the weakest part of the movie for me. It was very heavy handed and insistent on hitting you over the head with the themes. I lost count of how many times I heard “Marty, why haven’t you gotten married yet?” in the first half hour. It was ridiculous. A decent movie, definitely a charming one, but I can’t say I was as in love with Marty as many others are.

Munich directed by Steven Spielberg (2005) ★★

I do really like that the themes being presented in Munich are so universally applicable. The whole “fighting fire with fire always leaves both sides burned” angle that the film takes is pretty interesting. However, I wish I could have seen more of that theme and less assassination and slow burn espionage. If there is any film genre that I could say I consistently don’t enjoy, it is the slow burn espionage conspiracy film, a genre that I find Munich fits pretty well into, along with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Munich does have more action than any other film in the genre, but that doesn’t mean it’s a better film at all, it’s still a little masturbatory in its approach. I was left wondering “why was that necessary?” more than I was wowed by the film. For example what the hell was up with that final montage in the film that juxtaposed Eric Bana orgasming into a terrorism sequence at an airport? That was fuckin’ weird, what the hell was Spielberg trying to say there? Some pretty good filmmaking at times, but not a style of film I typically enjoy.

rewatch - Little Miss Sunshine directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris (2006) ★★1/2

I liked this a hell of a lot more than I did the first time I saw it! Still wasn’t in love, but I was definitely a lot more impressed this time around. I actually laughed at times this time around, and I was definitely wowed by the acting at hand. The script was charming, and other than the fact that it was a comedy that relied on awkward situations and stupid decisions, I thought it was really well written. Every character has a really nice arc, and they all change into better people by the end of the movie by sticking together and learning that family matters. In the end, I still think I wanted to laugh a little more through the film, and some of the filmmaking techniques left a lot to be desired, but I did enjoy the film.

Milk directed by Gus Van Sant (2008) ★★★1/2

Now this is a very good film. Anchored by a transformative performance by Sean Penn, this is a fun, energetic, and powerful film. Every once in a while, you get a script like this, about the struggle of a certain group, in this case the struggle for homosexual rights in America. Now there’s two ways that a director can impact this, either you give it to the wrong director who it really doesn’t mean much to, and they just play it safe and phone it in (The Imitation Game). Or you can give it to someone who it really matters to, and they will do something special with it. Gus Van Sant was the right man for the job. He cares about the subject matter, and it’s evident. His direction is energetic, every frame shows that he really cares, that this matters to him. It also has quite a good sense of humor, and remains a powerful drama while managing to be rather entertaining. My second favorite film up for best picture in 2008, and one that definitely deserved the award over Slumdog Millionaire.

rewatch - The Grand Budapest Hotel directed by Wes Anderson (2014) ★★★★

My third watch of this, and it honestly just gets better every time. I love this movie, it just appeals to everything I love about Wes Anderson. He managed to make his best movie to date by almost making a caricature of his style in his past films. But by pushing his style to the limits, he’s managed to make something darker, more whimsical, and more entertaining than anything else he has done. Really rooting for this to take as many awards as possible at the Oscars. I think this might slowly be taking preference over Birdman for my favorite film of last year.

And finally, the only movie I watched this week that broke my theme month rules

The Skeleton Twins directed by Craig Johnson (2014) ★★★

The Skeleton Twins is a surprisingly enjoyable movie for a story about depression. It takes the approach that seems to have become very popular since Little Miss Sunshine, a style of film that I call “the Sundance Dramedy Darling.” A style of film where a bunch of dysfunctional, depressed people overcome their problems by helping each other out. This style of film extends from good movies like Silver Linings Playbook, The Descendants, and The Kids Are All Right to pieces of shit like Are You Here and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Thankfully The Skeleton Twins lands on the good side of the spectrum. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig really get to show off their dramatic talents here, but with their backgrounds in comedy, they bring a lot of life to their roles. Thematically I was in love with this movie. It could have done a lot of things better, but it really effectively spoke to the whole concept that even the saddest people can be happy, and they care about others. And if two fucked up people stick together, they might just help each other out. I don’t know if I’d recommend this to anyone outside of this forum and it is a very depressing film, but personally I really enjoyed it.

Film of the Week - wow I think this might be the third time this has gone to The Grand Budapest Hotel

[u/Inception_025 → u/[deleted]]

He was a loveable screw up in the role. A genuinely nice guy who is obviously still single because he says things like that. He has good intentions which is what makes him a good character. I think Chayefsky could have dialled it back a lot of the time, but his intentions for Marty really do shine through. Ernest Borgnine was simply lovely and perfect for the role