Mryna Loy in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES - the second best wife ever
Happy Anniversary to The Wife, also known as Lisa The Love of My Life!
Watching The Guard with her was my Most Fun at the Movies in 2011. I also cherished her company at Midnight in Paris, The Social Network, Drive, Margin Call, Page Eight and The Ides of March. And, at home watching TCM this year, I especially enjoyed sharing two of my classic favorite classics with her, In a Lonely Place and Rope.
She’s the biggest fan and supporter of this blog, and I appreciate her and love her. Happy Anniversary, honey!
It was another year in which foreign cinema was essential (although not as great as years past). Three of the nominees for the 2010 Best Foreign Language Oscar were released in the US this year: Incendies , Dogtooth and the Oscar-winning In a Better World. Incendies earned a very prominent spot on my Best Movies of 2011. Joining Incendies on my Best Movies of 2011 are The Artistfrom France, Poetryfrom Korea, Carancho from Argentina and Potiche from France. That’s five films – down from ten on my list for 2010 and the lowest number of foreign films on my list ever.
Werner Herzog gave us the wonderful 3D Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Page One highlighted David Carr of the New York Times. The Polish documentaryWar Games and the Man Who Stopped Them was a great find. I also admired Thunder Soul (about a Houston high school stage band in the 60s), Magic Bus (featuring actual footage of Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters), American Grindhouse (about the grindhouse films of the 40s, 50s and early 60s) and These Amazing Shadows (about the National Film Registry).
PBS had stellar year, especially with Woody Allen: A Documentary, Jimmy Carter, Stonewall Uprising and Troubadours.
HBO delivered Bobby Fisher Against the World. And ESPN has entered the documentary arena with the surprising The Marinovich Project.
Woody Allen makes a movie each year, including some good recent ones like Vicky Christina Barcelona and Match Point, but Midnight in Paris is his best movie since 1986′s Hannah and Her Sisters. Not only is Midnight in Paris a delightful and excellent film, but it’s the top indie box office performer of the year, with a $56 million gross so far.
In addition, Woody is the subject of a top rate 2011 PBS documentary Woody Allen: A Documentary.
4. I didn’t see this as a highpoint at the time, but it was FAILING to get a rush ticket at the SFIF for Le Quattro Volte. In retrospect, this delayed being subjected to the coughing goatherd for a precious three-and-a-half months.
5. Listening to writer/director Kyle Smith tell my film club about the making of Turkey Bowl.
6. Finding the 1980 Werner Herzog documentary God’s Angry Man on a Dr. Gene Scott fan site.
7. Attending a preview of Cars 2 at the Pixar studio.
I recommend the feature in the Hollywood Reporter on the four very cute canine co-stars of The Artist, Beginners, Hugo and Young Adult. My favorite is Uggie, the Jack Russell Terrier in The Artist.
The Wife once again left me to my own devices, so I decided to make it another five movie weekend. I started off with the Japanese gangster film Outrage at 6:30 Friday at Camera 3 in San Jose. I enjoy a good Yakuza flick now and again, severed fingers and all.
Saturday morning I drove to San Francisco for a tripleheader at the Embarcadero. Kicked it off with a noon show of The Artist. Wow. Had high expectations and it did not disappoint. The Artist will make my Best of the Year list.
Next I caught the 2:30 show of Shame. Lost count of all the sexual deviations.
I learn that the Embarcadero sells Nathan’s hot dogs with jalapenos and sauerkraut. Just what I needed.
And I topped it off with the 5:10 show of A Dangerous Method. I had just seen Michael Fassbender with a severe emotional disorder in Shame and here he’s playing Carl Jung! And who knew that Viggo Mortensen could be so funny!
Ended up at Sunday’s 12:20 showing of Young Adult at San Jose’s C12. I was very surprised that I admired it as much as I did. It’s something of a comedy game changer from Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody.
So there – five movies in 44 hours – and a fine time it was.
I thought that there are things about Like Crazy to admire: two appealing leads, an intelligent and authentic story, a realistic beginning to the relationship, and a fine falling-in-love montage.
But my wife and her gal pals loathed it. Why? Primarily because they didn’t care about any of the characters. Of course that makes sense, because if you don’t relate to the characters, you’ll never buy into the story. The key to the story is an impulsive and stupid decision by the female lead that leads to the separation of the lovers; if you don’t care about the couple when this happens, then she’s just stupid.
The gals also pointed out that the extremely talented Jennifer Lawrence didn’t have much to do in this film other than get dumped twice by the same guy. On reflection, they have a good point there.
The Academy’s short list of candidates for the Best Documentary Oscar includes two films on my Best Movies of 2011 – So Far: Buck and Project Nim. Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory from the HBO Paradise series also made the list. All fifteen films on the short list are here.
Many consider the 1975 Thrilla in Manila, the heavyweight championship bout between Frazier and Muhammed Ali, to be the greatest boxing match of all time. Ali usually dominates the narrative of 1970s boxing. However, the 2009 HBO documentary Thriller in Manila revisits the fight and its aftermath from Frazier’s point of view. The film depicts Frazier in his final years, broke and living on the margins of society, still boiling with resentment from the experience.
In contrast, the 2009 documentary Facing Ali showcases Ali’s other rivals, who have all embraced their experiences with Ali as their career-defining moment. We hear from George Chuvalo, Sir Henry Cooper, Earnie Shavers, George Foreman, Ernie Terrel, Larry Holmes, Ken Norton and Leon Spinks. Chuvalo, Cooper and Shavers prove to be surprisingly charming raconteurs.
Thriller in Manila is on my list of 10 Best Boxing Movies, and I’ll put Facing Ali on the list when I have time.
