Out Among The Directors

[Ezee E]

The best has yet to come.

[Skitch]

I didn't know there was a PTA flick I hadn't heard of. Me fail.

[dreamdead]

Nice review, Madman. Just watched Hard Eight because of this jogged my mind and I aim to go through some of Hoffman's filmography that I've neglected over the years.

This one is interesting in that it feels totally quintessentially '90s in theme and mood. This foregrounds Anderson's interest in the father/son relationship that underscores his whole career (with PDL being the exception), but the script doesn't quite convince me that Johnny is in any way interesting. He's a little too sadsack and puppy dog to Sydney to be of much interest. And while some of that is certainly intentional and secures symbolic meaning, the film suffers and lags whenever it abandons Sydney's perspective, making the crosscutting during the finale a little too limp. The film is interesting when it finally answers why Sydney keeps extending himself for Johnny, and in the awkward love triangle between those two and Clementine (who's unfortunately a little too one-note to be fascinating).

Several of the Anderson tracking shots are fun--while you single out the casino sequence, I found the one-take follows of Sydney entering and exiting the hotel room nice in how they ratchet up tension by withholding easy progression of space. This was also a typical Anderson film where bit parts (Hoffman, the hostage) could be interesting movies in their own right. But Hall owns this film. I wish it had explored more varied thematic terrain, but it's a good entryway into his more challenging material.

I've got Bob le flambeur DVRed and am curious if this will rise or fall in esteem once I view it. Also: Sarah mentioned interest in watching Boogie Nights since she's never seen it. Trying to decide whether to do that or Magnolia as a rewatch for myself...

[MadMan]

Nice review, Madman. Just watched Hard Eight because of this jogged my mind and I aim to go through some of Hoffman's filmography that I've neglected over the years.

Thanks!

This one is interesting in that it feels totally quintessentially '90s in theme and mood. This foregrounds Anderson's interest in the father/son relationship that underscores his whole career (with PDL being the exception), but the script doesn't quite convince me that Johnny is in any way interesting. He's a little too sadsack and puppy dog to Sydney to be of much interest. And while some of that is certainly intentional and secures symbolic meaning, the film suffers and lags whenever it abandons Sydney's perspective, making the crosscutting during the finale a little too limp. The film is interesting when it finally answers why Sydney keeps extending himself for Johnny, and in the awkward love triangle between those two and Clementine (who's unfortunately a little too one-note to be fascinating).

The major reason I liked Johnny and Sydney's relationship is that its as much a partnership as it is Sydney acting as Johnny's father. The father figure mentality is something Sydney sticks with because maybe in the end its what he knows and does best. Its funny how in the conversation between Sydney and Clementine that only then does Sydney mention he is divorced and has kids-at least I remember him saying he has kids. Clementine works better as a character when she's interacting with Sydney, so I do agree that the she is a bit thin as a character. I did like the cross cutting, but that storyline felt weak compared to Sydney being forced to deal with Samuel L. Jackson's character, who I should have mentioned in my review. Hard Eight reminded why I love Jackson as an actor-when he stops playing himself and just "disappears" into a role, something that he really doesn't do anymore. Which is a shame.

Several of the Anderson tracking shots are fun--while you single out the casino sequence, I found the one-take follows of Sydney entering and exiting the hotel room nice in how they ratchet up tension by withholding easy progression of space. This was also a typical Anderson film where bit parts (Hoffman, the hostage) could be interesting movies in their own right. But Hall owns this film. I wish it had explored more varied thematic terrain, but it's a good entryway into his more challenging material.

Yeah I have a good feeling that PTA dives into way more complex material in his other films. And yes I did enjoy the other shots, which were really impressive too. There are not too many film debuts where you see a director being that comfortable and in command of the camera and what they want to do onscreen.

I've got Bob le flambeur DVRed and am curious if this will rise or fall in esteem once I view it. Also: Sarah mentioned interest in watching Boogie Nights since she's never seen it. Trying to decide whether to do that or Magnolia as a rewatch for myself...

Despite giving Bob le flambeur and Hard Eight the same rating (95/100) I slightly prefer Bob le flambeur, which is a classic Melville film and a new favorite of mine. I viewed it last year and loved it. I can't wait to get to Boogie Nights and Magnolia.

[MadMan]

Well its time to bump this thread, and who better to focus on then a new favorite director of mine, Ben Wheatley? I've viewed all of his major theatrical releases over the span of two years, and my avatar is from his latest, A Field In England. First up is the beginning, the movie that started it all...

Down Terrace (2009)



Although a bit rocky at times, I had to remember that this was Wheatley's debut film, and thus was prone to errors and sat at the mercy of a first time director trying to find his way. The humor in this film is probably the strongest out of all of Wheatley's movies, yet it carries that dark element that has presented itself in each of his films. Bleak humor is very English, and that is who populates all of his films: people from the United Kingdom, some who appear in most of his movies or at least more than once. You have Robert Hill and Robin Hill as father and son criminals trying to run an enterprise while attempting to figure out who might be the rat that caused the dad to be jailed. From this point on, things spiral rather quickly out of control and a large amount of violence ensues.

It is this element of violence which populates every single one of Wheatley's movies-in fact you could say he is obsessed with horrible things happening to people. The murders in this film are darkly humorous, and I actually found many parts of the movie to be surprisingly funny. However this film does not have much in common with say, the work of Guy Ritchie, or even Quentin Tarentino, because Wheatley shoots this movie as if it is a documentary. Such camerawork perhaps speaks to the film being lower budget, yet I think its also Wheatley wanting us, the viewer, to get in closer and properly examine all of the characters. Their motivations-love, fear, paranoia, hate, distrust, all mixed together in an engaging and interesting storyline that has a rather brutal finale. I dug the final scene, and while this film isn't as deep or as great as his other films it is still a well crafted start to a career that has been rather notable.

Thoughts on the ending, spoiled of course:

[

Show Spoiler

Having Karl and Valda murder Karl's parents is a neat twist, one that is a tad disturbing although also quite funny in an awful way. These killings are not just in response to the fact that Karl's parents disapproved of him marrying Valda, but they are also a freeing, vengeful act. Bill turned out to be the informer, and his actions resulted in many people dying as a result. The idea of karma driven justice pops up again in all of Wheatley's movies.

]

[MadMan]

Heat (1995, Michael Mann)



Using Moby for an intense crime saga set in Los Angeles would feel out of place for most directors. Then again, Michael Mann is in a class all by himself, and his timeless epic Heat (1995) showcases Mann at the height of his filmaking talents. It helps that he also assembles one of the best casts ever, headlined by Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, finally sharing the big screen together. Each two sides of the same coin, each reflecting not only man's nature but the symbotic relationship between cop and criminal. The slow paced, well rounded dinner scene properly reveals how each man thinks.

Vincent Hanna: What are you, a monk?

Neil McCauley: I have a woman.

Vincent Hanna: What do you tell her?

Neil McCauley: I tell her I'm a salesman.

Vincent Hanna: So then, if you spot me coming around that corner... you just gonna walk out on this woman? Not say good bye?

Neil McCauley: That's the discipline.

Vincent Hanna: That's pretty vacant, you know.

Neil McCauley: Yeah, it is what it is. It's that or we both better go do something else, pal.

Vincent Hanna: I don't know how to do anything else.

Neil McCauley: Neither do I.

Vincent Hanna: I don't much want to either.

Neil McCauley: Neither do I.



Naturally, both men and the others in their life still have attachments, anyways. What I find remarkable about Heat is how Mann spends almost three hours making the viewer care about what happens to the criminals as well as the cops. Sure other films have done that before and after, yet Heat really digs into actual lives, something that Jean-Pierre Melville and John Woo have done with their own crime films as well. That loose code of honor among thieves is even present, which further explains how events spiral out of control later on.

Oh and that LA downtown shootout is amazing. Lots of bullets flying, tons of violence, and Val Kilmer mowing down cops in broad daylight. Having the film's centerpiece appear so visible is another aspect of Heat that I admire. Sure the film comes off too cold at times, yet its the quieter film scenes that let the viewer in. Especially when De Niro's Neil falls in love, set to that alluring nightime LA backdrop that would be at home in a panting. For me though the film's suspenseful hide and seek finale is my favorite part, if only because it reflects that dinner scene all too well.

"I told you I was never going back." Boy 1995 was one hell of a year. Heat is an example of the best that year had to offer in film. Too bad Mann will never top it, although maybe that's okay. Some art is hard to even replicate, nevermind besting something a man worked decades to unleash.