Day 239 - Trainspotting

Trainspotting (1996) directed by Danny Boyle

Trainspotting hits the ground running as we see Ewan McGregor's character Renton being pursued by security guards on foot. This is how we are introduced to film's crazy world of addiction, mayhem and mischef. We are in for a wild ride.

What is the worst part about addiction? In my opinion it isn't the actual thing you're addicted to, whether it be drinking, gambling, drugs, porn, whatever, but everything else around it. Your addiction becomes a problem when it affects your every day life, consumes your thoughts, becomes the only thing you truly enjoy. When people quit drugs, it isn't necessarily the high that they miss that makes it so tough, it is tough because regular life is so unbearable. When Renton attempts to stay clean he finds that "once the pain goes away, that's when the real battles starts. Depression, boredom... You feel so fucking low, you want to fucking top yourself."

This film is a highly energetic mess and I mean that in a good way. The chaotic and hectic pace of the film fits perfectly well with the lives that the characters are leading. Perhaps the most memorable scene of the film is when Renton goes to literally the worst bathroom in all of Scotland and reaches into a toilet to find drugs. He reaches so deep that he dives right into it and suddenly he is swimming in a wide open ocean. Great stuff. There is no real singular plot to the story other than these friends' drugged out adventures and Renton's on and off attempts to stay clean.

There are the depressing aspects of addiction, the dilapidated and squalid crack houses, the painful bouts of withdrawal, the soul sucking depression and isolation. In one scene, a baby is found dead in her crib due to neglect. Yet, this film isn't quite Requiem for a Dream, there are the good times as well. The film's energy and humor give the film a certain bounce and pep to it as to not drag the viewer down in all its despair.

Trainspotting is about addiction but it is also about the friendship formed around it. Think about all the friends you have and ask yourself why you are friends with them. Is it because they are nice? Are they funny? You guys both like the same team? Somewhere near the bottom of the list should be because you like to share needles. As Renton tries to get clean he slowly begins to realize this about the people he hangs out with. Would he really be friends with the raging psychopath Begbie if they weren't in the same grimy underworld?

SPOILER: It makes the ending somewhat heartbreaking but fitting when Renton takes the money. He realizes that their friendship has run its course. It is uplifting though that he left money behind for Spud, who Renton genuinely likes and recognizes as a nice guy that hasn't hurt anybody. END SPOILER


Grade: B+

Day 238 - Dirty Harry

Dirty Harry (1971) directed by Don Siegel

"I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"


I've always wanted to see Clint (we're on a first name basis) say this line in context and I got to say, it is every bit as badass as I'd imagined it'd be. As far as I'm concerned, Dirty Harry is one of the pillars of the cop and killer genre and even at 40 years old, it doesn't feel dated at all. It has a perfect combination of action, suspense and pure bad-assery. It also features a worthy villain who is every bit as psychotic as the hero is awesome which is so rare in films.

The main star is obviously Clint, who plays Harry Callahan, the prototypical tough cop that plays by his own rules. He must catch a sadistic killer who calls himself Scorpio. Scorpio tests the bounds of Callahan's morality and duty as a police officer. In the battle between good and evil, evil has an advantage because they are not bound by any rules. Callahan must play by Scorpio's rules in order to beat him. This doesn't mean that evil prevails or is the best way, just that things are rarely ever black and white. I absolutely believe that the criminals deserves certain rights, but at the same time some scum simply have to be punished. It is the eternal gray area in the fight between the good guys and bad guys. Never mind all of that though, this film is simply a pleasure to watch, a superb action drama and one of Clint's memorable performances.

Grade: A-

Day 237 - The Descendants

The Descendants (2011) directed by Alexander Payne

It's never easy to say goodbye especially when there are still unresolved issues in the air. That is why you often hear the expression "They took the easy way out" when someone dies because the departed doesn't have to deal with all the mess left behind. In The Descendants, Matt King is left alone to raise his two daughters when his wife is put in a coma after a boating accident. When there is no hope left for her, the doctors must eventually pull the plug as dictated by her will.

But Matt is not able to grieve for his loss. He has too much on his plate at the moment. His family and his relatives are the descendants of one of the original white land owners in Hawaii and he is the sole trustee of the estate. He must soon decide what to with the land before the trust dissolves in seven years. But on a personal level, there are still unresolved issues between Matt and his wife. He discovers that she has been cheating on him, but only after the news that she will die.

Matt is devastated and angry. In a particularly scathing scene, he lets loose on her knowing she cannot hear him, venting all the ill will he was never able to express to her before. It is cold and vindictive, but he feels cheated not just by her but by the situation. She got off easy. But when his angry daughter Alexandra attempts to do the same, he will not let her last words to her mother be so callous. Matt is also the sole trustee of his daughters now as well and for the first time must be a real father. The film is partly about how to deal with loss, but at the same time it is about moving on.

The Descendants falls under the category of comedic drama, or dramady, and there is a fine balance between light hearted humor and the serious emotion and intelligence the film shows. It deals with the disruptive nature of adultery and the sadness of death, but it isn't overly morose as to feel suffocating. There is the quest to seek out his wife's lover that feels almost like a comedy adventure, though the pain and anguish Matt feels is all too real. It is a fine balance. George Clooney is excellent as Matt as he shows a wide range of conflicted emotion and subtle humor. This is one of his better performances in one of his better films.

Grade: A-

Day 236 - The Gold Rush

The Gold Rush (1925) directed by Charlie Chaplin

The version of The Gold Rush that I watched is actually a 1942 re-release where Chaplin composed an original score and added a voice narration, so this isn't actually a silent film per say. It is a sort of in-between film that adds a more modern approach to one of his old classics. I think I would have preferred to see the original silent version because of how universally acclaimed it was but this narrated version is very well done so it is hard to complain. Whether there is a voice or not in the film, the main focal point is in Chaplin's penchant for visual comedy and heart felt storytelling which The Gold Rush oozes with.

Here we follow the familiar Tramp on his exploits to the Alaskan frontier where he tries his hand at prospecting for gold. The first twenty-five minutes of the film are pretty interesting because they don't necessarily relate to the main story and plays out like a situational comedy. In these moments The Tramp is trapped in a cabin with two other people in the middle of a severe snow storm. These moments have classic moments of silent film style comedy but is also surprisingly quite morbid. So stricken with hunger The Tramp and Big Jim must resort to eating a shoe. Big Jim becomes so hungry that The Tramp starts to look tasty himself as he visualizes him as a giant chicken. It is meant to be funny, and it is, but I couldn't help but think of the movie Alive where plane crash survivors had to resort to cannibalism to survive the winter. Nevertheless these early moments are classic Chaplin that you can't help but smile at.

Once The Tramp survives that ordeal there is the familiar romance of the lovable loser and the girl, this time the lonely saloon dancer Georgia. One of the criticisms I've read of Chaplin was his excessive sentimentality but why does that have to be a bad thing? True, in his movies The Tramp can do no wrong, he is utterly faithful and chivalrous, but is it so wrong to aspire to this ideal? The Gold Rush isn't nearly as sentimental as City Lights, but it is charming and heart warming nonetheless.

This film also features some great set pieces, including a house hanging precariously over a cliff. It looks obviously fake 85 years later (it's obviously a miniature model) but I always get a kick out these old time effects. Even knowing how silly it looks, there is still a sense of danger and excitement to the scene as The Tramp narrowly avoids plummeting to his death.

The Gold Rush is considered one of Chaplin's classics but to me it is clearly a level below City Lights and Modern Times, but only because those are all time greats. To me, this is more on the level of The Circus, which isn't a bad thing at all.

Grade: A-

Day 235 - Steamboat Bill, Jr.

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) directed by Charles Reisner and Buster Keaton

If there is one iconic shot from Buster Keaton's career and perhaps all of silent cinema it may be this one. Keaton is standing in front of a rickety old house and suddenly the face of house falls forward on top of him with only the open attic window preventing him from becoming a human pancake. Without even flinching, the window fits neatly around Keaton as the house falls down. It is a simple yet remarkable stunt and showed the courage of technical know-how of the early pioneers.

In Steamboat Bill, Jr., Keaton plays Willie Canfield returning home to see his father Steamboat Bill, captain of an old riverboat on its last legs. Bill Sr. is in the middle of a feud with John James King who's just completed a brand new luxurious riverboat meant to drive him out of business. King has a daughter, Kitty, who is also returning home. As luck would have it, Willie and Kitty have a Romeo and Juliet style romance going on much to the chagrin of their parents. Willie must work hard to prove himself to his disapproving father and to prove his love to Kitty.

There are classic bits of silent comedy and sight gags you would expect from a silent film and it moves along nicely, but it is not until a violent storm comes through that the fireworks really begin. The stunt work in the latter parts of this movie are quite spectacular including the aforementioned falling house scene.

I know I am working from a limited sample size of two, this and The General, but at this point I think it's safe to say that I prefer Chaplin over Keaton. While I think Keaton is by far the better stuntman, I think Chaplin is actually a better physical comedian and his films are just funnier. But not only that, they are also more heartfelt and leave a lasting impression. Though Steamboat Bill, Jr. has a richer plot than Modern Times, City Lights or The Circus, I didn't connect with it like I did in Chaplin's films. Even though there is a romance and a father-son dynamic in the film, I didn't really feel it. That isn't to say Keaton is an unconvincing actor or his films lack sentiment or emotion, I just wasn't into it like that. It is like when you hear a singer's voice. Many people can sing well, but often times your personal favorite isn't going to be the one with the best voice but the one with the unique quality that connects personally to you. All that being said, I think Steamboat Bill, Jr. is a fine movie and probably better than The General in my opinion.

Grade: B+

Day 234 - The Game

The Game (1997) directed by David Fincher

I'm typically pretty forgiving when it comes to whether or not something is believable or even possible in a movie, it is a movie after all, but sometimes something is just so absurd it cannot be ignored. The Game is such a film. The premise is promising in its tense mystery but soon you begin to realize, "There's just no frigging way." This is one of the most ridiculous and contrived movies I have ever seen in my life.

Michael Douglas plays Nicholas Van Orton, a powerful business man in complete control of his life and the world around him. He is talked into participating in a mysterious game run by an equally mysterious company named Consumer Recreation Services. We have no idea what this game is other than it will teach Van Orton a valuable lesson. "I once was blind and now I can see," someone tells him. Soon everything starts to go wrong for him as his world starts to fall apart. The stakes of this game are much more than Nicholas bargained for. As the movie progresses, Nicholas finds himself in increasingly ridiculous situations that you just have to pause for a second and ask yourself, "What is going on?"

The problem is that I sort of guessed what was going on, but I refused to believe that the film would be so stupid as to actually try to pull it off. The whole point of the game is to try to teach Nicholas about what is really important to him, but the whole concept of the game being played is just so grandiose and absurd. Did I mention that it is absurd? The last fifteen minutes of the movie is typical movie BS that seems like a test to see how stupid they think the viewer is.

SPOILER: The fact that the game is actually real is predictable Hollywood nonsense that you can see a mile away but that is not even what really bothers me. (The whole rooftop confrontation has been done so many times and they almost always suck.) That the game is made to be some huge life affirming reality check for Nicholas is beyond retarded. That is the problem with these types of movies with such grand ideas; the pay off almost never lives up to the expectations set by the premise. Oh, so you mean to tell me that Nicholas's first reaction when the ordeal is all over is to thank his brother and not be super pissed? Please. END SPOILER

David Fincher is a great director, there is no question about it, but the material he works with here is just so weak. Yes, there are tense suspenseful moments, but when these scenes are so wildly unbelievable to begin with, they no longer become suspenseful and only add on to your incredulity. End rant.

Grade: D

Day 233 - Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) directed by Werner Herzog

I like documentaries that inform, interest and entertain me on subjects that I know very little about. A really good documentary can make any subject matter seem important and made interesting. What surprised me then about the critically acclaimed Cave of Forgotten Dreams, which has a very interesting subject matter, was how tedious and dare I say boring it felt. I felt like the film didn't really capture the power of the paintings of the Chauvet Cave. These paintings, the oldest known in the world at over 30,000 years old, are incredible to think about and quite remarkable to look at but I didn't get that "wow" feeling that Herzog was going for. The narration felt long winded and overly preachy. I feel like this would have been much better as a 1 hour TV special rather than a full length 90 minute film. But I will give the film the benefit of the doubt for a couple reasons.

The first is that a film like this simply had to be made. People should know about these cave paintings. It is a historically significant site that helps us understand what it means to be human. Even in our earliest days when we were struggling for survival amongst fearsome creatures and Neanderthals that threatened our very existence, we took time to paint. We loved art and music just as we do now. It has always been a part of who we are, what makes us special. This is a truly powerful idea whether you feel the film conveys it or not.

If you study the cave paintings closely, you would be astonished just how detailed they are. These weren't just some simple stick figure drawings etched out in the rock. They could easily be mistaken for sketches that Picasso drew.

This film was actually shot and filmed in 3-D. Herzog wanted the viewer to see the dimensions and curvatures of the cave and how the paintings sat on the dynamic surfaces. I could definitely see this being amazing, but unfortunately I could only watch it in 2D so I didn't that extra oomph that moviegoers got in theatre.

Overall I wasn't really feeling Cave of Forgotten Dreams because I don't think the film really captured the power of the caves, though I could appreciate it. I can't say I wholly recommend it but it is at least worth skimming through to sort of experience it.

Grade: C+