what we have here is a failure to communicate

I watched a couple of really interesting movies towards the end of last month, as well as some old favorites, and some brand new rubbish.

My Cousin Vinny – Johnathan Lynn – USA – 1992
Every time I watch this movie I am struck all over again by how awesome it is. When you mix the mad passion of Joe Pesci as a hot shot but completely bumbling NYC lawyer, and add the exquisite snarkiness of Marisa Tomei as his long suffering girlfriend, stir in a little criminal court trial in small town Alabama, and top it off with some outrageous costumes, you’ve got a movie that is absolutely entertaining.

Grosse Pointe Blank – George Armitage – USA – 1997
Another endlessly entertaining movie with a great cast – featuring John Cusack in probably my favorite roll of his, as well as a particularly hilarious turn by Joan Cusack. Full of smooth talking, romance, and random bursts of violence, as well as a somewhat poignant commentary on revisiting the past, this is a movie that has all its eggs in its basket – even if none of its characters could say the same thing!

The Spanish Prisoner – David Mamet – USA – 1997
This is a pleasant little thriller, and a weird one. Campbell Scott plays a really nice man who invents a mysterious process that is worth a lot of money. Steve Martin plays a fellow who seems to befriend him, but of course as the intrigue piles up, it’s hard to tell friend from foe. What is really peculiar about this movie is the script – or rather, the way the actors speak their lines. They talk really oddly! Across the board they all use very little variation in voice or tone, speaking almost bluntly, but at the same time almost sing-song-ish. It both jarred against my ears, and totally fascinated me. It was definitely intentional, but I’m still trying to figure out why it was done. I’ll have to watch more David Mamet movies I guess. Anyway, I really liked this movie, in spite of (or because of) this distinction!

Clash of the Titans – Louis Leterrier – USA – 2010
*sigh* I like action packed visually stimulating block buster type movies in general – guilty pleasure, you know. But for all it’s modern day special effects, this movie doesn’t even remotely compare to the 1981 original. For one thing, it lacks Bubo the mechanical owl – my favorite character in the Desmond Davis flick. And instead of being laughably bad in a creative and interesting way, it is merely mediocre in every aspect. The script is terrible, the acting is terrible (in spite of a truly fun cast…!), and it is visually ho-hum. Compare the Medusa scenes in both movies, and you will see that the 1981 version is edge-of-your-seat intense, while the 2010 version is in-your-face absurd. I hate being this right about things – I thought it was a terrible idea to remake this movie, and it appears that I wasn’t far wrong. I will admit that I liked Liam Neeson as Zeus over Laurence Olivier, and Ralph Fiennes was quite creepy as Hades. I didn’t think there could be anything blander than Harry Hamlin’s Perseus, but Sam Worthington wins the prize – and don’t get me started about the roll he played in exorcising Bubo! Uncool, Sam, very uncool.

The White Ribbon – Michael Haneke – Germany – 2009
This is a weird, weird, spooky movie. Set in a small German town just prior to the start of WWI, it is about a series of sinister occurrences that interrupt the quiet lives of the town folk. Who strings a wire that causes the doctor to be thrown from his horse? Who beats the Baron’s son and leaves him hanging in a barn? Narrated by the village school teacher who is looking back on that summer as an old man, and filmed in striking black and white, the movie lays out the events, but offers little explanation or resolution. I really liked that about it. Not sure I really liked the movie, but it was definitely interesting.

Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same – Peter Clifton and Joe Massot – UK – 1976
I’ve been told that in order to count myself as a Led Zeppelin fan, I had to see this documentary. I liked all the live music parts – the fantasy sequences were a little trippy… – but I could watch almost anything if I got to see Jimmy Page absolutely losing his crap on the guitar. When he pulls the violin bow out…man, there is some sweet, sweet music in the making. 🙂