#76 Sound of My Voice (2011)

By Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling.

#55 Arcadia (2012)

By Olivia Silver.

The debut feature-length film of UCLA Film School graduate Olivia Silver starring John Hawkes. Congratulations to this young filmmaker for turning out a better than average coming-of-age story in her first feature-length film. Ryan Simpkins plays twelve year-old Greta who along with her brother and sister is being uprooted by their dad (Hawkes) in order to move the family across the country to California. Greta's disillusionment with her father and the fact that they are moving steadily grows as their journey progresses, however the fact that she is unable to find out any answers about the status of her mom (who is supposedly going to join them in California) makes her situation appear more and more desperate. There are some very nicely developed themes in this film. Greta's evolving relationship with her parents, and in particular her dad, is the main issue at hand, however the deeper story really revolves around Greta's personal growth and maturation as she struggles to find her identity as a pre-adolescent. Interwoven into the story, Silver has created some wonderful scenes of sibling bonding, which for me formed some of the best storylines that this movie contains. Greta and her younger brother Nat (played by Ryan Simpkins's real-life brother, Ty) possess a tight bond, the kind that seems most often to exist when there is a strong lack of parental involvement or emotional connection as is the case with this family, albeit primarily because of circumstances. I enjoyed this movie and also enjoyed meeting and speaking with the filmmaker following its screening at the Northwest Film Forum. Perhaps as a consolation for only receiving 3 stars from me, Silver should at least be proud that her movie appears in almost365films sandwiched between two movies that could easily be considered among the top ten of all time (8½ and Sunset Boulevard). So she's in good company!

#54 Cavalier (2013)

Directed by Steven Schardt. Written by Steven Schardt and Christian Palmer. Starring Christian Palmer.

A short film directed by a Seattle/Kentucky/New York-based filmmaker, Steven Schardt. Scotty is an alcoholic and is appearing to lose any custody he might have remaining over his 20 month-old son when he decides to kidnap him and take him on an impromptu road trip. The story, which appears to have neither a definite beginning nor end, culminates in a roadside motel where Scotty meets and entertains a fellow alcoholic in the form of a lonesome woman. I am happy that this movie and the artists involved will get some exposure at SXSW as I personally know the filmmaker. At the screening at Northwest Film Forum, it was apparent that many of the other audience members were impacted positively by this short as its concepts of divorce, fatherhood, responsibility and/or alcoholism possibly touched home more for many others than for myself.

#41 Tabu (2012)

#40 Side Effects (2013)

Another Steven Soderbergh experience.

                                Emily is depressed.  .....Or is she...?

I am a fan of many of the Soderbergh movies. I haven't seen his most recent movies like Contagion or really most of the others. But I do remember liking Traffic and especially liking Bubble. This movie both did it for me and didn't do it for me. At times during the picture, I found myself very entertained trying to follow the interesting and rapid storyline, while also having the sense that something just didn't seem right. There were a few drawbacks to this movie that I saw. First, I strongly believe that this story could have been just as credibly told with "normal" looking people. I mean at a certain point you can't help thinking, is it really necessary for these beautiful people to be constantly forced down my throat. Can't I get a little bit of William H. Macy and Tilda Swinton and John Hawkes for crissake. Jude Law was as precise and professional in his acting performance as his boring psychiatrist character is with his work. Neither Mara Rooney or Rooney Mara or whatever her name is nor Zeta-jones are really very good, in my opinion. And the Tatum guy played a pretty good prick, although I don't know if his character really was meant to be one. He was the kind of guy you wouldn't want to hang out at the bar you like to frequent. The second annoyance was why the hell do so many hollywood movies and LA television shows assume that "regular" people are all rich as hell? I'm finding it harder and harder to be empathetic with the characters' plights when they all belong to a socio-economic class that also contains around 0% of the people that I know or interact with on a regular basis.

Anyway, as far as thrillers go, this one requires your brain at least a little bit. Probably better than most. 3 stars.

#27 Ruby Sparks (2012)

#26 Consuming Spirits (2012)

#22 The Spanish Civil War–Episode 4: Franco and the Nationalists (1983)

This episode focused on the nationalist side of the war. Who they were, what their beliefs were, and who their leader Francisco Franco was. 

After finishing my review of Episode 5, I realized that I had written so little for this review. The main idea that I contemplated during this episode that I would like to put down on paper is that the Nationalist side of the conflict was primarily based on three concepts: Traditionalism (societal stratification by classes, capitalism, domination of culture by the Catholic church, etc.), Patria (motherland), and Order. This final fundament of the fascist Nationalist cause was the primary difference between them and their opponents that allowed them to fight and win a military conflict. To form a functioning military, hierarchy, authority, obedience and subservience are fundamental. The anarchist revolutionaries on the opposing side with the support of individuality, free thinking, and state-opposition were the biggest deterrents to fighting a well organized military campaign. It is also why the dictator-authoritarian communist faction of the Popular Front were able to garner much of the power from their side, as they were much more suited for taking orders, carrying them out, and achieving military objectives. This together with the aide given by Stalin in the form of planes and munitions supplied with the objective of supporting the Soviet (Stalinist) version of Revolution. 

The story of the Nationalists and Franco is interesting but not nearly as fascinating as the Revolutionaries. Another interesting "what if...": if they had been able to defeat Franco and his form of fascism, how many years of upheaval would there have been in attempting to establish order following military victory? Would the libertarian-socialist principles of the Popular Front have been able to be converted into a successful peacetime government, and how would the hardships of coming out of a civil war have affected that? Would repression against Franquistas by the victors have been similar to what indeed was actually perpetrated by the fascists especially considering the policies of Stalin in the late 1930s. And most interestingly: what role would Spain have played in WWII?

#19 The Spanish Civil War–Episode 3: Battleground For Idealists (1983)

#17 The Spanish Civil War–Episode 2: Revolution, Counter-revolution & Terror (1983)

A six-part television documentary on the Spanish Civil War. Made in the early eighties, it still provides the opportunity to hear testimony from eyewitnesses. A fair and even account intended to convey the facts without choosing sides or culprits per se. This episode did a fairly thorough job of describing and explaining how extra-judicial killings and massacres of civilians were so rampant during the conflict and perpetrated by both sides. Another important topic that I believe is rarely well understood is the nature of the anti-nationalist side as it was made up of (among many other political groups) republicans loyal to the newly chosen system (democracy) and anarchists composed mainly of trade union members. In fact, anarchist ideas were adopted by a very large portion of the Spanish working class. The concept that for anarchists, regardless of how much they believed that fighting the fascists was necessary and thus shared a common objective with the republicans, the very nature of their system of beliefs didn't allow them to form a functioning army because that would require authority, organized discipline, hierarchy, commanders, and submission to orders, which all go entirely against the most important tenets of anarchism. Therefore, how could the left ever have been able to create a unified front against Franco's forces?

A good historical documentary. At the summary of this episode, a dour foreshadowing is offered as it mentions again the huge number of executions committed by both sides that were more explicitly described during the episode and says, "...and still the war was only four months old. It was to rage for another two and a half years..."

#15 Away We Go (2009)

Directed by Sam Mendes.

We were recommended (and in fact loaned) this movie by some close friends. I have to admit that I laughed more during this movie than during any of the rest so far. It is a funny and touching movie. It is the story of Burt and Verona a couple very much in love as they go through the life-changing experience of realizing they are about to have a baby. Verona's pregnancy naturally causes each of them to reconsider themselves and most importantly reconsider who they are as a family. When they come to the decision to remake themselves in a new location, they embark on a journey to find that destination. It takes them to different cities and different friends and relatives and in particular to different mentalities about parenting and the nature of family. The supporting cast provide a great amount of laughs in their roles as several different stereotypes. My favorite is LN (pronounced Ellen) played by Maggie Gyllenhaal whose method of parenting (aside from involving as much breastfeeding as possible, including for her six-year-old Wolfie and a colleague's baby she was asked to babysit for) is based on the concept of prohibiting the three "S"es: no separation, no sugar and no strollers. Burt, played by John Krasinski of The Office fame, also provides a good number of laughs with his goofiness. He is nicely balanced by Maya Rudolph who plays Verona, a surprisingly real-seeming person with her natural fears and emotions as a woman in her mid-thirties coming to terms with herself while still overcoming the early loss of both her parents.

I really enjoyed this movie at times. It is cheesy as hell at times as well, filled with the long "so-in-love-but-what-are-we-gonna-do" stares between Burt and Verona or their stares into the distant fields as they ask themselves those same questions and it's beautiful countryside, on-the-road scenery, sunrise shots with it's Jack Johnsonesque soft-voiced guitar ballads soundtrack that are just enough to get right up to the tipping point of making you want to puke, but what can you expect? This is definitely in the genre of a "date movie", and you've got to put up with some of that at times. Luckily this movie also makes up for it with some good laughs.

#8 - Dangerous Moonlight (Suicide Squadron) (1941)

Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst. Starring Anton Walbrook and Sally Gray.

There are several things that occurred to me while watching this movie.

First, it isn't quite as good as the Hitchcock films I've seen this month in terms of writing. The storyline and many of the initial dialogues don't seem as witty. And the development of a romantic spark between the characters is too quick for the viewer to feel much empathy. This film did in the end win me over with it's wonderful argument presented in the second half of the film. Should the world-renown pianist possibly sacrifice himself and give up his ability to provide the world with his wonderful music in order to contribute to a greater cause by being only a contributing member of the war effort as an airman fighting against the evils ravaging Europe? It in some way offers a nice counter view to the movie from last night, Hannah Arendt, in that the cause of the greatest evil ever known is from the loss of the individual and thus the formation of totalitarianism (see blog post for more in depth comments). Whereas here, the question is raised, in order to defeat this evil is the abandonment of the individual also necessary? 

Second, I wasn't happy with how it ended. But, without trying to give too much away (at least no more than what is already revealed in the first scene of the movie), I have to believe that the ending comes from the fact that this movie was made in 1941, and the American public even without wanting to admit it knew that their fate was to join the war effort as well. With that in mind, I can't imagine any wartime movie made with a different ending and receive any public appreciation at the time. (This idea has also made me decide at some point to watch The Pianist by Polanski–a movie that I am yet to see, but which must have a great deal in common with this one, I think.) 

Third, the motivation for watching this movie came from the fact that we have been listening to the Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell on our record player, and M has said how it is her favorite track. Upon looking it up, I came to realize it was written especially for this movie. So, we decided to get ahold of the movie and see if we liked it. The song is ubiquitous throughout, to the point where M was already annoyed with the music despite only sticking around (awake) for the first couple scenes. But, all-in-all, the song really is quite marvelous (embedded video below).

#4 - Mapa (2012)

by León Siminiani.

#1 - The 39 Steps (1935)

Naturally getting started off with one by a master, Alfred Hitchcock.

I had wanted to watch this and had it waiting on the computer when I got home from my trip. Then I realized while I was away that it appears in my favorite book Catcher in the Rye (which I try to read every year around Christmas time), as one of the few movies the Holden can tolerate and in particular because Phoebe has the whole movie memorized.

I mean if you tell old Phoebe something she knows exactly what the hell you’re talking about. I mean you can even take her anywhere with you. If you take her to a lousy movie, for instance, she knows it’s a lousy movie. If you take her to a pretty good movie, she knows it’s a pretty good movie. D.B. and I took her to see this French movie, The Baker’s Wife, with Raimu in it. It killed her. Her favourite is The 39 Steps, though, with Robert Donat. She knows the whole goddamn movie by heart, because I’ve taken her to see it about ten times. When old Donat comes up from this Scotch farmhouse, for instance, when he’s running away from the cops and all, Pheobe’ll say right out loud in the movie – right when the Scotch guy in the picture says it – ‘Can you eat the herring?’ She knows all the talk by heart. And when this professor in the picture, that really jolly German spy, sticks up his little finger with part of the middle joint missing, to show Robert Donat, old Pheobe beats him to it – she holds up her little finger at me in the dark, right in front of my face.