WHIPLASH (2014)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 30 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

My preconception of Whiplash was this was probably going to be another one of those inspirational teacher movies pushing his star music student to excel. It is that in part, but Mr. Fletcher (the teacher) comes across as more Full Metal Jacket drill instructor than as the beloved teacher from Goodbye, Mr. Chips.

The film is dominated by J. K. Simmons as Fletcher, the relentless music instructor and is intimidating every time he comes on the screen. Luckily, Miles Teller as his student drummer is also very good, which gives the adversarial relationship between the two a nice dramatic balance. Simmons won the Oscar for his role, as I think the Academy was afraid he might yell at them if they didn't.

FAT GIRL, (2001 FRANCE)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 29 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

My thoughts on this movie has SPOLIERS!

I didn't know what to expect when I turned on Catherine Breillat's Fat Girl from Hulu Plus. I may have gotten more than I expected...

Anais is an overweight twelve or thirteen year old who has an attractive older sister named Elena, who is fifteen. She has a stern mother and a workaholic father. The film is set during a beach vacation for the family. The two sisters have moments of bonding and moments when they hate each other.

The two of them meet a college student named Fernando, who Elena begins a relationship with. The girls are sharing a room during their vacation stay and one night Fernando sneaks over to to see Elena. Fernando and Elena discuss their sexual options for a very long time as they assume Anais is asleep in the other bed. The give and take between Fernando and Elena (Spoiler: Men will sometimes exaggerate and lie in order to get sex) seems real, but these scenes are a bit off-putting (at least to me) because of her youth. They don't go all the way, but get together the following night and do.

During the first encounter, Anais is listening to them the whole time and Elena gets mad at her when she finds out and scolds her sister for listening in. Anais points out that Elena is the one at fault because she is the one that snuck a college man into her room in the first place!

During the second encounter, Anais secretly cries under her covers as she hears Elena and Fernando's sexual encounter.

After the father has already left the vacation resort, the mother finds out about what Elena and Fernando did and is angry to say the least. Elena realizes that she fell for Fernando's lines about loving her and Elena, Anais and her mother all drive off from their vacation resort-the mother giving the girls lectures the whole way.

Well, I thought that was it. A movie that did show some realistic relationships between sisters, though with some very uncomfortable scenes. It wouldn't be my choice for the 1001 book, but....wait...the movie isn't over yet.

In the final scene, the mother is tired of driving and pulls over at a rest stop to sleep. Then the front widow of the car is smashed! A madman with an ax plunges it into Elena, killing her instantly! He jumps into the car and strangles the mother! Anais gets out of the car and the man chases her into the woods and throws her down and rapes her!

I'm actually hoping this is a dream sequence of destruction like the ending of Zabriskie Point, but no! The police arrive the next day to investigate the crime scene and a dazed, but remarkably not-hysterical Anais's only thought seems to be that her rapist never raped her!

What the hell!

Okay, Catherine Breillat. Your ending shocked me! Stunned me! But it doesn't make me like you!

Warning: Do not see Fat Girl (If you have to see it at all) the same week you watch the film Irreversible. It might make for a very depressing week!

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 28 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
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Little Miss Sunshine is a  movie that deals with failure, attempted suicide, bankruptcy, unrealistic dreams, teenage depression, homosexual heartbreak, voluntary mutism, the death of a loved one, James Joyce and a Volkswagen Bus that has trouble switching gears. But it somehow manages to be an awfully fun movie anyway! In my book.

IRREVERSIBLE (2002, FRANCE)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 27 of 50)

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Similar to Memento in structure, Gaspar Noe's Irreversible tells the story of a rape told with the scenes presented in reverse sequence. Though compared to  Irreversible, Memento looks almost quaintly mainstream. Irreversible is grim, brutal, unpleasant, but undeniably effective. There are a couple of scenes of violence in this film that are really unlike anything I've seen on the screen before. Definitely not for the faint of heart and it's very unlikely I'll ever want to watch this one again.

Book recommendation for those who like their narratives told in reverse would by Time's Arrow by Martin Amis.

Thank goodness I didn't ask my wife to watch this one with me like I was gong to do! I definitely need a drink now!

BLANCANIEVES (2012, SPAIN)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 26 of 50)

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After the success of The Artist, I did wonder whether any more silent films would ever be coming our way. And here we have this undeniably delightful re-telling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Many of the classic elements of the story are there, as well as a prerequisite evil stepmother, a legendary bullfighter, a leading lady with a slight case of amnesia and a merry band of dwarfs. 

Lots of  fun to watch, though not without some sad parts. But that's life and that's fairy tales!

Let's keep those silent films coming!

THE AVIATOR (2004)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 25 of 50)

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The first movie I saw about Howard Hughes was the 70's TV film The Amazing Howard Hughes with Tommy Lee Jones. I certainly liked it at the time and found Mr. Hughes a most fascinating figure. But how could you not find this eccentric billionaire who slowly dissolves into mental illness and seclusion interesting? 

Scorsese's film The Aviator neatly emphasizes the "aeroaspects" parts of the Hughes legend, from the making of Hell's Angels to the growth of TWA to the manufacturing and flying of The Spruce Goose. The mental deterioration of Hughes is dramatized too, of course. I had my doubts about Leonardo Di Caprio in the lead role the first time I saw it, but with my second viewing, his performacnce has really grown on me.

Tommy Lee Jones as The Amazing Howard Hughes

THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS (2001)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 24 of 50)

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I'm not totally as on-board the Wes Anderson bandwagon as some others are, but I think this story of three gifted children and the father that deserted them is probably my favorite of all his films that I've seen. Clever, quirky script and a cast that's clearly having a fun time, especially Gene Hackman as the family patriarch.


Shortly after I watched The Royal Tennenbaums, I just happened to be reading J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey for my book group. I began to notice similarities between the the book and the film as I was reading, as they both featured precocious children all appearing on a whiz kid quiz show in their youth and growing up to have a multitude of emotional problems in adulthood. It turns out that Anderson was a big Salinger fan, as fans of the director probably already know.

RABBIT-PROOF FENCE (2003, AUSTRALIA)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 23 of 50)

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I figured that this often heart-wrenching story of three very young girls escape from their settlement facility and 1,500 mile walk back to their aboriginal home was based on fact, because you just couldn't make it up without having it seem too far-fetched! A sad, moving, but often inspirational film.

David Gulplil 1001 Movie appreciation society

David Gulplil in Walkabout

David Gulplil in The Last Wave

David Gulplil in The Right Stuff

Not a 1001 movie, but David Gulplil
was also in Crocodile Dundee

And David Gulplil as The Tracker in Rabbit-Proof Fence

I have no idea why David was not cast in The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith.

TSOTSI (2005, SOUTH AFRICA)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 22 of 50)

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I knew what this movie was about going it-a young street tough learns humility by finding a baby in a car after one of his crimes. But after seeing what this punk does early on in this film (including killing an innocent man on the subway) I figured that there was no way that I was going to feel anything but contempt for Tsotsi. But Yet somehow Tsotsi somehow manages to morph into a movie where you care about the characters, even the title character, which we can give credit partly to director Gavin Hood, lead actor Presly Chweneyagae and that little baby.

ATONEMENT (2007)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 21 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

Sometimes a lie can result in dire consequences that may take a lifetime for you to atone for. That's the moral I get out of Atonement, a  well-acted, touching (I don't use that word in this context often) and often emotional film set mostly during World War II. And watch for the beach scene, easily the most impressive single section of the movie.