Watching Movies Sep 20

Documentary about married volcanologists who repeatedly risked their lives just to be near erupting volcanoes. The film tells us very little about volcanoes and little about the main characters. I think we're just supposed to be charmed that they were in love and see their risky behavior as some kind of philosophical quest (but I guess everything the French do is philosophical) but it underplays their role as scientists and teachers and how they actually make a living at this. The main purpose of the film is to highlight their massive archive of volcano film and photos, and we are treated to an abundance of amazing images, although there's no explanation of why it took 30 years to be released.

They say this is the female version of Superbad. It never reaches the comedic heights of McLovin's ride along with the police, but it's funny all the same, with great underdog characters who are too academically minded to cut loose and enjoy themselves or get into trouble. I like the way the story turns all the high school cliches around as part of the character's journey, but it was weird that these were all some very rich and privileged kids and somehow class wasn't really an issue.

I haven't seen this in 12 years and I'd forgotten most of it so time for a revisit. This is a first rate neo-noir crime thriller, but what sends it over the top are the tension-filled performances by the three leads as everything falls apart around them. Would have been nice if Marisa Tomei had a stronger role, and it gets a little too flashy at times (those abrupt time transitions are awful) but this is Sidney Lumet at the top of his game and in his element. A great film to end your career on.

Werner Herzog visits a massive Buddhist gathering at a sacred mountain. When you stand outside a religion looking in, the whole theatrical ritual is strange and alienating. The trek around a mountain where people will inevitably die, the grueling prostrations, the conformity of action and apparel all show a devotion to something unknown. Herzog explains what's going on without delving too deeply into the why, letting us just observe the event. At one time I might have thought the mystery was intriguing, as if they had some sacred knowledge I didn't possess. Now it all seems like misguided energy, but if this fulfills their lives who am I to say. The only thing I could appreciate is the creation of the sand mandala, because at least there's an art to that, although the worshipers seem less interested in looking at the mandala than they were just being near it. I'm also glad they at least showed some of the logistics of feeding half a million people.

A simple and unassuming story that's grounded in the characters, who are a lot of fun to hang out with. Surprisingly for Disney animation, there's only one musical number, which makes this film feel lightweight at a lean 78 minutes, but I think a big part of its charm is that it isn't trying to be another Disney blockbuster classic. It's just a fun comedy. 

I rewatched the first half and it was so bad I couldn't continue. Every choice was terrible, the biggest being Jar Jar Binks, but there's also the wooden acting (Liam Neeson at his worst), no dramatic build up, and an over-abundance of special effects. The highlight is a pod race that's visually thrilling but has no tension, and I don't believe for a second that a kindergartner could win, let alone drive that podcar, no matter how many mitoclidorians he has in his blood. This is what I feared Lord of the Rings might be when it was released. Thankfully Peter Jackson did everything right where Lucas did everything wrong.

A famous playwright marries a suave actor but he has sinister plans for her. A fun Hitchcockian thriller with great performances by Joan Crawford and Jack Palance. Palance is such a fascinating actor with his angular face - born to play villains but here shows he can be a romantic lead as well. Crawford is a Stepford wife until the tables turn and she gets delightfully conniving. Her eye acting alone is award-worthy. With its San Francisco setting it reminded me of Woman on the Run, but Sudden Fear is much more suspenseful and campy. 

A lot happens in the first 20 minutes and none of it registers with the characters or with me. It was a lifeless setup for an "epic" film that felt completely studio-bound. The only positive was scantily clad Claudette Colbert doing nothing to convince of the period, but her co-stars could have been statues. I quit watching.

Barbara Stanwyck's a call girl who falls in love with Ralph Graves because he shows zero interest in her, and she spends most of the movie trying to get him to fall for her. When he does, his rich parents object, of course. This is Frank Capra's first collaboration with Stanwyck and the movie that established her in Hollywood, but her co-star, a silent film veteran, kills the movie with his blunt and brutish performance. Stanwyck is in tears through half the film and Capra doesn't have Jimmy Stewart yet to save the movie. The best parts are the side characters and the pre-code roaring twenties slang and lifestyle, but there's not much here worthwhile aside from 23-year-old Stanwyck stepping into the spotlight.