Day 68 - The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep (1946) directed by Howard Hawks

This might be one of the most confusing movies I've ever seen. The Big Sleep has so many plot elements, twists, turns, mysteries and intrigue that if you paused the movie midway through and asked me what it was about, I'd be hard pressed to give you a straight answer. Apparently the screenplay was so confusing that in the middle of filming, Humphrey Bogart asked director Howard Hawks whether a character was murdered or if he committed suicide. Hawks realized that he didn't know either so he telegramed Raymond Chandler, who wrote the frigging novel, and he admitted sheepishly that he had no idea himself. That is how complex and convoluted the story is. There were points where I kept asking myself, "Who is this guy?", "What does he have to do with anything?" and "What did they just talk about?"

But not that it really matters anyways. The real point of the movie is to watch Bogart do his thing; walk around cool, smoke cigarettes, charm ladies, talk tough and point guns at bad guys. A lot is said about this film's witty and hard boiled dialogue and it's easy to get caught up with all the banter without even realizing what is going on. For as much dialogue as The Big Sleep has, it is mostly for style and does not bother to explain things with much clarity. Raymond Chandler also wrote Double Indemnity, which I would argue is even better written and not nearly as mystifying.

This could of course be my own fault as a viewer, but when I'm required to concentrate that hard just to figure out what is going on, your crime mystery might be just a little too good. Of course by the end I was able to piece most of it together and while struggling to keep up most of the way, I still enjoyed the process of the film. You might make a couple wrong turns and get lost along the way but if you make it to the party in the end, that's all that matters right? (The ending is especially exciting and satisfying.)

Humphrey Bogart plays Philip Marlowe, a private investigator who is hired to handle a simple blackmail case but ends up being involved in a tangled web of gangsters, murderers, gamblers and blackmailers. This is the third film I've seen him in, the other two being Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, and it seems to me he plays the same character in each movie, but he has that role down pat, perfected to a tee. While Rick Blaine isn't a private eye, he still has the cool tough guy appeal that Marlowe and Sam Spade have. I guess lots of actors in that time period were acting like that, but Bogart did it with a distinct style that would become synonymous with the hard boiled detective of film noir. When you think private eye, you basically picture Humphrey Bogart.

Playing opposite of Bogart is Lauren Bacall as Vivian Rutledge who was just twenty years old at the time. A lot is said of the on screen chemistry between the two, but to be honest, I didn't notice anything sizzling. (The two would marry shortly after, Bogart was 45 and Bacall 20.) But hey, as someone who has recently broken up, maybe I might not be the best judge of these things! I don't know Bacall from any other movie, but apparently she was a big star in her day. This was one of her earliest films, so I'm sure she matured a lot more as an actress later on, but I didn't find her performance in The Big Sleep particularly remarkable. I'd argue that the other female characters outshone her, especially Martha Vickers who plays Vivian's sister, Carmen. Vickers' career afterwords was pretty spotty and was nowhere near the star of Bacall, but you could hardly tell from these scenes.

Bottom line: Decent film noir that is bogged down by its overly complex plot but saved by its style and the star power of Bogart.

Grade: B-

Day 152 - To Have and Have Not

To Have and Have Not (1944) directed by Howard Hawks

Another movie that I didn't know was directed by Howard Hawks. This was part of a a Bogart/Bacall DVD set I have that includes The Big Sleep. It is easy to draw comparisons to the two films since they both star Bogart and Bacall and was directed by Hawks. However, I think a better comparison is to Casablanca for its story and setting.

To Have and Have Not stars Bogie as an American living in the French island of Martinique. He makes it clear from the beginning that he is only in it for the money and could care less about the local politics which have grown increasingly violent. Like Rick Blaine from Casablanca, the more Harry "Steve" Morgan seems to resist taking sides, the more entrenched he becomes in the fight. It is a great story of the reluctant sort of anti-hero that Bogart excelled at playing. He tries to convince other people, and perhaps himself, that he is only doing the job for the money, but we know that isn't really true. I think Bogart really nails this role.

This film is perhaps more notable for featuring Lauren Bacall's debut performance at just age nineteen. A lot is said about Bogart and Bacall's chemistry in The Big Sleep, but I personally think their dynamic in this film is much stronger. Bacall's performance in this film is pretty remarkable for such a young actress. She displays a confidence and look to her character more befitting of actresses twice her age. Bogart and Bacall have great scenes together helped by some pretty snappy dialogue, perhaps the most famous line coming from Slim (Bacall): "You don't know how to act with me, Steve. You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just a whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and... blow."

When she kisses him:

Steve: What was that for?
Slim: I'd been wondering if I'd like it.
Steve: What's the decision?
Slim: I don't know yet. [They kiss again] It's even better when you help.

It's the kind of classic smooth talking romance you'd imagine from these kind of films.

The guy who plays Eddie, Walter Brennan, also starred in another Howard Hawks film, Rio Bravo, basically playing the exact same character. He is Steve's one good friend, but is mainly there for comic relief. He does a good job at it, but in some scenes he borders on being super annoying. It is interesting watching Steve deal with the two relationships of his life, Eddie and Slim, which reveal a great deal about his character.

I really enjoyed the film. It's an entertaining romance with memorable characters and performances, reminiscent of Casablanca. Something interesting I read about the film is that Howard Hawks made a sort of boast to his friend Ernest Hemingway that he could make a movie out of what the author considered his worst book, To Have and Have Not. It is a testament to his abilities as a director to make a compelling movie out of a bad book. Of course the movie is nothing like the book and by the end of all the rewrites they had very little in common. It just goes to show that directors shouldn't get all the credit. Screenplays go a long way too.

Grade: A-

Day 91 - Le Doulos

Le Doulos (1962) directed by Jean-Pierre Melville

This is the second appearance on my blog for two French men, director Jean-Pierre Melville (Bob le Flambeur) and Jean-Paul Belmondo (Breathless) and both have grown on me immensely. I'll just start off by saying I really enjoyed this movie!

Doulos is the French word for hat, but to the world of cops and robbers it also means informant. Rappers would love this movie. It has it all, gangsters, tough guys, honor among thieves and of course the code of the street, "Stop snitching." The main focus of Le Doulos revolves around trying to decipher the actions and motivations of Silien (Belmondo) who seemingly snitches on his friend Maurice in a heist. Maurice is convinced Silien is an informant and must decide what to do about it. For his part Silien does some pretty unsavory stuff throughout the film to make us believe he is at least of questionable morals, but is he a snitch? Why does he do the things he does throughout the film? There are plot twists galore and the details of the plot are pretty intricate, but it is nowhere near the labyrinth that The Big Sleep is.

But like The Big Sleep, the whole point of this film is its style and watching Belmondo do his best Bogart. As I mentioned in my blog entry about Bob le Flambeur, Jean-Pierre Melville loved all things American and if Le Doulos wasn't in French you'd have no idea that it wasn't filmed in 1940's Hollywood. Everything about the movie screams classic noir. Shadow intensive cinematography, crime drama plot, the tough guys, sexy dames, and hard boiled dialogue? Check, check, check, check and check. The film is intentionally exaggerated in that regard. Everybody in the film wears a trench coat and fedora. These supposedly sophisticated Frenchies like their liquor hard, scotch and whiskey only please. Standard locations include sleazy bars and fancy night clubs. One scene uses so much shadow that it intentionally hides a character's face and since everyone wears a trench coat you don't really have any idea who it is.

This isn't just Melville's ode to his favorite gangster films though. It is also combines elements of the French New Wave that gives it a different kind of edge. One thing that I tried to focus on were any unorthodox scenes in terms of camera movement or editing. A scene that jumped out to me was when the police take Silien in for questioning. The camera is set up square in the middle of the room and swivels back and forth following the characters and their conversations. As Silien talks with the detective, rather than cut back and forth between the two the camera instead moves right to left to right to left (something that I noticed Woody Allen does a lot in his films). Then later in the scene the camera follows the detective as he makes a complete 360 degree circle around the room, then he paces back in the other direction and goes another 180 degrees. This entire interrogation scene is shot in a single take with no cuts or editing lasting over eight minutes! Great job by the actors and an even better job of directing by Melville.

The star of the film is Belmondo who just exudes cool from his pores, something I noticed right away from his role in Breathless. It is impossible to look at him and not see a little bit (or a lot) of Bogart in him. He's just fantastic.

I don't want to ruin the ending but the last ten minutes are great. The closing shot has so much style that it is almost a cliche and I mean that in the best possible way.

Note: One complaint someone might have about this film is that it is misogynistic and Belmondo has some really good slaps that would make Sean Connery blush. Melville would defend himself stating something to the effect, "I'm not misogynistic towards women, the characters are!"

Grade: A

Day 335 - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) directed by Shane Black

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is one of those self important films that likes to remind the audience how cool and clever it is. Fortunately for the film, it really is that cool thanks to its sharp and witty screenplay, though not nearly as clever as it thinks itself to be no thanks to a plot that is almost as confusing as The Big Sleep. But like The Big Sleep and other hard boiled detective stories, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang isn't so much about the plot as it is about watching cool guys do cool things.

The story is narrated by Harry Lockhart, a petty thief that gets caught up in a Hollywood story of detective work, dead bodies, scandal and bad guys with guns. He is assisted by private detective Gay Perry who rivals Omar Little in the awesome gay tough guy category. The third wheel is Harmony Lane, Harry's obligatory love interest who finds herself caught in the middle. This is all I can really say of the plot because I couldn't even describe it to you if I wanted to, but like I said, none of that matters anyways. You simply watch the film to watch Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer be awesome and they are.

The highlight of the film is the screenplay which is full of funny little nuggets. "Look up idiot in the dictionary. You know what you'll find?" "A picture of me?" "No the definition of the word idiot, which you f*cking are!" This is the type of crass sarcastic humor that has populated films in recent years that can come off completely wrong (Kevin Smith) or be totally awesome (Quentin Tarantino). It is awesome here because the lines are delivered by awesome dudes like a gay Val Kilmer and the always cool Robert Downey and fits well with the overall feel of the story. It is like one of those classic Raymond Candler hard boiled stories updated for modern times.

I don't think I can say it enough times, but Val Kilmer kicks ass in this movie. I'll be your huckleberry.

Grade: A- 

Day 225 - El Dorado

El Dorado (1967) directed by Howard Hawks

El Dorado undoubtedly draws comparison to Rio Bravo for obvious reasons. Both are westerns that star John Wayne and are directed by Howard Hawks. They are also somewhat similar in plot as well with the sheriff and company trying to protect a small town against the bad guys. Both are pretty darn good movies.

 I'm so tired right now, I have zero interest in rehashing the plot so I'll just mention a few observations. This is one of the few posts where I am outright admitting to half assing it. I think I'm allowed to have one of these every now and then just like how I know 90% of so-called vegetarians have a secret stash of bacon somewhere for their moments of weakness.

- There is a scene that is completely lifted and westernized from the ending of another Hawks film The Big Sleep. In that film Bogart's character confronts the bad guy in the house with a group of the bad guy's men waiting outside. Bogart knows that as soon as he steps out the door they will shoot him so he cooly points the gun at the bad guy and tells him to go outside basically sentencing him to death. Naturally the bad guy doesn't want to go outside so Bogart gives him a little encouragement in the form of gunshots at his feet forcing him to finally step out that door. There's basically the same exact scene in El Dorado except with cowboy hats. This scene got me to thinking just how awful these characters are. John Wayne sadistically shoots at the guy's leg and shoulder kind of like how those sick kids that pull off the legs of a spider one by one. Finally the guy has no choice but to go outside to get shot by his own men. There are other scenes where they could have easily taken in a guy alive but instead shoot them almost in cold blood. It's a take no prisoner's kind of attitude I guess.

- James Caan does one of the most racist impressions I've ever seen on film, perhaps less offensive than Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's, but no less shocking. Basically out of nowhere Caan's character has the bright idea of disguising himself as a Chinese guy to sneak up on a guard. The whole scene, obviously meant to be humorous, is so unnecessary not to mention kind of a stupid idea to begin with. I'm sure they could have found half a dozen other ideas to take out that guard. If you asked me about this film five years from now, this scene would probably be the only thing I'd remember.

- The more I see of John Wayne the more I'm convinced he wasn't a very good actor. He just looks so uptight on screen and has very limited range. Just keeping it real! He's still an icon though.

- I've eaten half a jumbo sized bag of gummy Coke bottles. They are quite delicious though can be quite sickening once you've had too many which I have. That is a sign to wrap this up.

Grade: B

Day 151 - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) directed by Howard Hawks

Howard Hawks was a director of many tastes. This is the fourth film I've seen of his and they've all been drastically different. Scarface was the quintessential gangster film back in the day. The Big Sleep helped put the hard boiled detective on the map. Rio Bravo is considered an all time great western. So it was much to my surprise when watching this whimsical musical comedy to see "directed by Howard Hawks" in the credits. That being said, these films are so different from each other, I could never guess they were made by the same guy. I don't really know much about Howard Hawks or his style but is there a common theme to his works? Signature shots? Types of characters he likes to use? Wikipedia is pretty vague in this matter only mentioning a couple of his quotes. What makes a good movie? "Three great scenes, no bad ones." Also a good director is "someone who doesn't annoy you." I could definitely agree with that sentiment.

So anyways, there isn't really much to say about Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. It is a decent enough musical and occasionally quite funny comedy. The real reason to watch this movie is of course for Marilyn Monroe who basically ruins it for all blondes, ensuring that they will never be taken seriously again. It is the classic ditzy blonde bimbo, and a gold, or should I say diamond, digger to boot. Monroe's star power was almost like a black hole. No matter where she is on screen or what she is doing, your eyes just gravitate towards her, often times at the expense of the people on screen. (Sorry Jane Russell!) Here she has a bubbly charm that is impossible to ignore. She has a few gags throughout which mostly plays on her dumbness and gold digging, but what I liked about her character is that by the end she isn't nearly as dumb as she would seem nor the cold hearted gold digger you assume her to be.

This movie gets extra bonus points for Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend, an iconic song by an iconic woman. Nicole Kidman sings it in Moulin Rogue, a personal favorite movie of mine, though I did not know where the original song came from. Now I know! It is one of the highlights of the film.

It's hard to really say anything about this movie. I can't even say for certain if I liked it. It sort of just breezes by, telling some jokes and singing a couple of songs along the way. It isn't a heavy hitting film; it is light and easy, so there isn't that much to dig into. It isn't particularly memorable, though there isn't really anything bad about it either. It looks good in Technicolor. The Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend number looks particularly good. The dialogue is pretty snappy and witty. And of course there is Marilyn Monroe.

Grade: B-


P.S. This is one of the first posts I can say with certainty that I half-assed. Can't bring the heat every day, nah mean?

Day 136 - Scarface (1932)

Scarface (1932) directed by Howard Hawks

I had no idea that Brian De Palma's Scarface is actually a remake of this Howard Hawks film right down to key plot points and the tag line "The World Is Yours." In that regard I had a lot of fun watching this movie and comparing the two versions and just enjoying the classic story. Knowing that De Palma's version is a remake doesn't diminish it at all. On the contrary, it makes me appreciate it more because of how faithfully it follows this story and how he makes it uniquely his own. On the other side of the coin, it makes me respect the hell out of this original version because not only did it inspire De Palma's classic, it holds up remarkably well and is every bit as gangster if not more so than a movie made fifty years later.

People seem to get the misconception that older movies are more tame than newer movies. While it may be true in some cases, there are quite a few notable exceptions. (In the beloved family film The Adventures of Robin Hood, the hero Robin Hood kills at least a dozen people.) This 1932 film is so gangster that it makes DMX look like Drake. This film has so much gunplay that it makes Rambo look like he's shooting water pistols. This film is shockingly violent and mature.

For those of you familiar with the Brian De Palma/ Al Pacino version, this version should seem like a trip down memory lane with some of the details changed here and there. It follows the story of a small timer Tony Camonte as the right hand man of boss Johnny Lovo. Johnny wants to gain control of the south side of Chicago by controlling the booze; those who don't fall in line get a face to face meeting with Tony. Tony of course has his eyes set for bigger and better things expanding operations to the north side of town against the orders of Johnny. Needless to say, Tony gets more and more powerful. Replace 1930's Chicago with 1980's Miami and booze for cocaine and the two film's plots are almost indistinguishable.

Paul Muni is great as Tony. He is a bad bad dude and you can see where Al Pacino drew his inspiration from in portraying of Tony Montana. Muni struts around confidently and is every bit as eccentric. One of the key ingredients to becoming such a fearsome gangster is the ability to live life on the edge without really caring. In a telling scene, a restaurant Tony is eating at is hit with a drive by shooting. Rather than cowering in fear, Tony can't help but appreciate the brand new machine guns his enemies are using and can't wait to get his hands on one, thinking how fun it would be to shoot them. In another scene, his men track down one of his enemies and they need Tony to come along to make the hit. Tony, however, is so enthralled by the play he is watching that he would rather stay there to see which guy the girl chooses. He reluctantly agrees to come along for the hit, but not before making sure one of his men stays behind to watch the rest of the play so he can know what happens. These elements bring a lot of humor to a rather macabre story and add a lot of color to Tony's character. It's also a reminder of how reckless Tony is which may be a cause for his inevitable downfall.

I was actually pretty surprised how funny the movie is, but it is done in such a way that it isn't distracting to the overall tone. It shows that you can laugh during a drama without making it a comedy or cheapening the seriousness of it.

This marks the third Howard Hawks film I've seen (Rio Bravo, The Big Sleep) and I've been impressed with them all in their own way. He has such a wide range of movies under his filmography and was able to do it all. Scarface is my favorite so far but I'm intrigued to check out more of his work. This is a really great film and a historical landmark of the gangster genre and a must see for any fan of the De Palma/Pacino Scarface.

Grade: A

Day 241 - Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011) directed by Bill Condon

Within the first five minutes of Breaking Dawn I laughed harder in a theater than I could remember in a long time. I've learned a while ago that if you treat certain movies as comedies, it'll make your movie watching experience much better. This is particularly true for movies you know are going to suck.

The scene in question? Lovebirds Edward and Bella gazing intently into each others eyes professing their devotion to each other the night before their wedding with cheesy sentimental music playing in the background. The Twilight series has produced some of the cheesiest dialogue and melodrama I've ever seen. I'm sure it all sounds nice when you're reading it in a book, but certain things should never be said aloud.

It also doesn't help that the series has been horribly acted. To be fair, you can't really blame the actors because of the inane material they have to work with but still... Why does Edward always look like someone just stole his lunch money? Why does he always come across as a whiny little girl? Can he raise his voice above a seductive whisper? Taylor Lautner only takes his shirt off once in the entire film. WTF is up with that? When he's given a shirt and some meatier lines, he fails big time. Kristen Stewart has actually gotten a lot better over the course of the series and is the best actor of the three leads (after easily being the worst) but that's like saying she's really tall for a midget.

Ironically my real complaint with the film is that it's not bad enough which makes the film kind of boring. One thing I could count on from the other movies was to be mildly entertaining, but here they slow the pace waaaaaaay down to a painful halt. The beginning wedding scene is meant to be dreamy, and it is, when it puts you to sleep (I can write bad as well). The middle honeymoon scenes are meant to be romantic, but it focuses so much on this teenage sex angle that it sort of detracts from the overall film. I know it is Bella's first time and all and is supposed to resonate with the franchise's primary demographic, but let's try to focus a little more on vampires and werewolves and demon babies okay? The last third of the film is when the action sort of picks up but not really. Also I don't remember the werewolves looking so bad in previous films, but in this film the CGI looks particularly bad. At least I got to laugh at the growling psychic conversations between the wolves.

Unfortunately Breaking Dawn Part 1 is probably the least funny of the four films so far which also makes it the most disappointing. Hopefully Part 2 will be both funnier and livelier once all the tedious set up has gotten out of the way.

Grade: C-