(Makes Me) Crazy Heart

I have trouble moving things up in my Netflix queue so sometimes I wind up seeing stuff years after it’s relevant. Many times, even. Crazy Heart has been inching up the list for ages. To be honest I’ve been a little afraid of it. It got such great hype and the subject matter seemed like if it was done well it’d be hard to watch.

Apparently I can name that reaction in one note! I sat there knowing that at some point Jeff Bridges’ character was going to fuck up. But at what point? The clear presence of that tension was a slam dunk writing-wise but as an audience member I had a very hard time not turning it off and hiding my head under a pillow.

Then it was over and I cried. Some of that can certainly be attributed to the week I’ve had but I don’t want to take all the credit away from a truly well-crafted movie.

Taking Chance

I put this movie in my Netflix queue years ago with only the vaguest idea of what it was about. I didn’t have high hopes for it and yet still was apprehensive about watching it. As it turns out it’s a perfectly utilitarian story and script that is able to step just barely aside from its subject matter so you can appreciate the gravity of the message.

That subject matter is Lance Corporal Chance Phelps and the marine who volunteered to escort his body home to his final resting place.

That’s probably all I need to tell you, isn’t it? Don’t be a stickler for high art, bring a hankie, but watch this movie. I think it’s important.

Bausched!

It turns out I hadn’t seen any of Pina Bausch’s work before I sat down to see Wim Wenders’ Pina today. For that I am both crushed and mortified. The very shortest thing I can say about it is, I know, this probably doesn’t seem like something you’d be interested in. I thought so, too, and I worked for a modern dance company for years. We’re both wrong. Go see it.

In case you’re wondering what the hell I’m talking about, Pina is a celluloid love letter from filmmaker Wim Wenders to choreographer Pina Bausch. Ms. Bausch participated in the creation of the film until her “unexpectedly fast” death in 2009.

I’m not certain I can form a proper essay about the film but I don’t want to leave it at the shortest thing I can say. I think both of those things might be OK for a powerful visual creation. I’ll lay out the things it made me think about.

3D – The film was shot in 3D. I had heard some buzz that people who were excited about the movie were disappointed at under-usage of the media. I disagree completely. In fact I think that what was misinterpreted as under-usage is actually such a seamless integration of the format that you don’t even realize what it’s doing for you. There’s a moment in the first dance we explore where suddenly a man is in close up. He’s not doing anything at the time but he’s right here in the room with us. In 2D it would be an entirely different, and much less powerful, experience.

Bodies – I love the variety of bodies in Bausch’s company. You’re not going to see a ton of people who are out of accepted weight ranges but there’s a nice variety of age and little left to the imagination. Poochy bellies and saggy breasts and crow’s feet and strange hair and beaten down feet abound. All the bodies are strong and beautiful and no one does anything to try to hide them.

Preserving dances – It’s harder than you might think. Film of dance is largely awful and doesn’t express the emotion of it. If you aren’t seeing the original dancers or a production overseen by the choreographer then you’re also probably losing a lot. That being said, this felt emotional and faithful though not complete and that seemed like the nicest tribute Wenders could possibly give.

German contradiction – We see footage of Bausch describing reviving her role in a piece called Cafe Muller. Her character performs the entire thing with her eyes closed and she found she couldn’t reclaim the emotion of the role until she realized that, even behind closed lids, she needed to be looking down instead of straight ahead. “Details are important!” she declares. Those details, though, rather than stripping emotion build it to operatic levels.

Dance company cults – It’s not just dance companies. You can get a cultish feeling from a lot of close knit creative groups. Dance and theatre are a fertile ground because, as I mentioned above, it’s not a medium that is easily recorded for posterity, not in a fully encompassing way. People gather around a creator and stick with them for years for the opportunity to see that person in action, live action, as often as possible. One of the dancers described refusing to perform Cafe Muller without Bausch on stage as well because, “it’s the only way people can see her…dance.” I kind of miss that feeling.

Missing – I miss dancing and choreographing. Watching a master’s life work makes me feel like I wouldn’t know the first step to take back on that path but I miss it.

Have fun seeing Pina! I’m just going to assume you’ll take my advice.

Quick Hit: Larry Crowne

This was a funny, sweet little gem of a movie.  I had no idea that I would sympathize as much with the characters  – I was surprised by how much I was able to identify with the downtrodden teacher – or that I would like it as much as I did.   Larry Crowne is a positive, optimistic, lovely film, and I’ll happily add it to my collection the next time I see it on sale.

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Twilight

Alternately titled; Don’t Judge

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Last week, I showed the first installment of the Twilight saga to my Aliens and Vampires in Literature class (yes, that’s a real class; I teach in an awesome high school where I get to teach classes like that).  Once they got over their “it’s cool to dis Twilight” bellyaching, the settled into the story quite well.

I showed it to them as part of an arc of vampire films – beginning with Nosferatu, moving through Braham Stoker’s Dracula and ending with Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and Twilight – intended to investigate the evolution of the character of the vampire.  Somehow, I told them, we’ve managed to go from a hideous, asocial creature to a charming, handsome, integrated entity.  Somehow, I pointed out, we’ve moved from something associated with damnation and dirt and darkness to something concerned for his own and others’ souls, who lives among people and strives for a semblance of “normalcy.”  These things don’t happen by accident, and I am interested to see what the kids think are the reasons for the evolution.

I went home this weekend and watched the subsequent two films with 14-year-old Punkin’, and I have to say that, despite the “it’s cool to dis Twilight” campy-ness that sometimes made me shudder, I really enjoy these films.

Look; there’s a LOT about this story to discredit it.  I’m not going to bother going into the many, many shortcomings because people smarter and more observant than I have pretty much beaten them to death.  There’s something about the story, though, that appeals – and appeals greatly – and that’s what I’m interested in.

There’s something compelling – for me, at least – about the idea of entering into a relationship with the knowledge that it’s going to be forever; not just this lifetime, but forever.  I love the idea of chosen family that the story highlights and will admit to choking up a little during the scene in the first film where Rosalie is resisting helping Bella escape from James, Victoria, and Laurent.  Carlisle puts her in line by saying “Rosalie. Bella is with Edward. She’s part of the family now. We protect our family,” and she acquiesces without a second word.

The tag line in the films is When you can live forever, what do you live for?  The answer, at least for this story, is love.  I’m totally down with that.  I’m a sucker for a devoted love story.  For all the camp and strenuous work one has to do to suspend disbelief, I do not regret the time I’ve spent watching these films.

Nine x2

I saw the revival of Nine on Broadway a few years ago. It starred Antonio Banderas, who wasn’t my favorite, but also starred women like Jane Krakowski and Mary Beth Peil, who I love, so it was a great way to be introduced to the piece. Also a great way to make me really sad that I missed the original because it starred Raul Julia.

So when the movie came out I knew I’d probably want to see it but I wasn’t all that excited about it. Any time you gather a group of people who, by and large, don’t sing and dance to do something that hangs entirely on singing and dancing I am skeptical. You know, it’s not a great musical. It’s disjointed and odd and non-linear and way too introspective to be clearly dramatic. It’s got a couple of hot numbers, though, and the scenery in the movie is spectacular. They did a fair job of casting so that everyone plays to their strengths and doesn’t take away from the material. I certainly had fun with it and am now considering singing a couple of the tunes.

Chili Quick Hit: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

There were a lot of films watched during the Chili Holiday Break of 2011, and this was one of my favorites.

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I’m very fond of the RDJr/Jude Law Sherlock movies, and this one didn’t disappoint in the least.

Chili Quick Hit: Tintin

So, Kizz has come up with the simple and BRILLIANT plan of writing brief comments about the films she sees as she sees them and posting them here.  I saw a TON of films last year, but I never made a single post here because I never felt like I had the time to write “proper” reviews.  Well, screw that; I’d rather write a brief reflection than let the experience evaporate into the ether of my brain, so I’ll stop by here every time I get to the end credits of a movie and, at the very least, list the film I saw.  Maybe I’ll come back and flesh out those reflections, maybe I won’t, but at least there’ll be SOMETHING here to document what I’ve seen.

I’ll start with Tintin.

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We (“we” being Mr. Chili, Bruder Chili, the girls and I) saw it over the holiday break, and we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit.  I have NO experience with the books beyond having seen them in the girls’ room – both my daughters and my husband and his twin grew up reading the Tintin stories, so they had a different experience than I.  Regardless, I enjoyed the film; it was a well-considered story done with lovely animation.

I will say this quick thing in terms of review; this was not, strictly speaking, a “kid” movie.  Both violence and drinking to excess figured heavily into the plot, and a number of the nuances of the story would have been lost, I think, on the under-12 set.  That didn’t matter a bit to us – both our kids are well above grade-level in their capacity to understand complex stories – but I think that most of the film was well above the heads of the numerous 5-and-under patrons at the theatre that day.

Or: A Lady Irons

From what I can tell the filmmakers who made The Iron Lady think that Margaret Thatcher was an awkward girl who discovered that if she got enough power no one would notice how awkward she was…until she lost the power and became an awkward old lady trapped in the Queen’s hand-me-downs.

Sars does a nice review of it, if you’re interested.

I really enjoyed all the performances while really disliking the movie itself. Totally unworthy of all the talent they managed to strong arm into contracts. The poster, however, is brilliant.

A Dangerous Method of Keeping Track

I don’t go to the movies all the time but I do go pretty regularly. When someone asks, “What movies have you seen lately?” I go blank. I don’t have time to write 1000 words on every movie I see though.

Solution: Just write a few lines about every movie but do it on the blog so I can look up what I’ve seen and have an answer to the damn question.

Last month I saw A Dangerous Method. As usual it’s an interpretation of history that I totally fell for and was sad to find out wasn’t strictly true. Really enjoyed the performances and the look of the movie. The one-two punch of Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen made me drool.