anthonygreen93 Reviews

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Good writing, great comic performances and many laughs along the way.

[7/10 · 12 November 2012]

Film Review – Bringing Up Baby

Howard Hawk's screwball comedy, Bringing Up Baby (1938), that entails a series of misunderstandings occurring one after the other between a polite paleontologist, a gorgeous clumsy woman and a leopard named Baby. After their run in at a golf course, Susan (Katharine Hepburn) convinces David (Cary Grant) to help take care of her auntie's pet leopard, as she believes David is a zoologist rather than a paleontologist. A series of comical errors ensue throughout the film played out by excellent overall performances by the entire cast.

The plot was at times very frustrating to follow, due to the absurd misunderstandings that consist of stupidity too hard to believe. This is most prominent towards the end when somehow everyone involved ends up in trouble with the police. However, aside from that, the film is a joy to watch for the brilliant acting and screen presence of Cary Grant and for the wonderful comic timing by Katharine Hepburn. Hepburn and Grant share great on-screen chemistry which at first seems to elicit the dynamic of a brother/sister friendship. Though as the film progresses, their bizarre relationship unfolds into quite an unlikely romance that didn't seem entirely convincing.

In many scenes, Hawks and the editor, George Hively, deliberately showed long durations between cuts, eliciting a dynamic that resonates with an on-stage play. This decision was cleverly made to accentuate the acting skills of the cast members, particularly Hepburn and Grant. The camera lets the comedy unfold through their performances without interruption. This technique allows them the freedom that two great actors require to get the best out of their talents. It is a technique that has since been used throughout cinema for decades.

Bringing Up Baby is a classical film that consists of good writing, great comic performances and many laughs along the way.

Bastardy (2008)

A story of extraordinary perseverance

[6/10 · 5 November 2012]

Amiel Courtin-Wilson's documentary, Bastardy (2008), follows the life of Jack Charles – a homeless Indigenous Australian actor based in Melbourne who is struggling with a heroin addiction and faces burglary charges. The film gives an intimate insight into the challenges and experiences Charles faced over a period of seven years where he was in and out of prison.

The film has a heightened sense of voyeurism, as an observational-style documentary, following Charles in various settings around Melbourne. As this continues throughout the duration of the film, the audience is corralled into a position where our morality is questioned. This was particularly prominent when Amiel informs Jack the particular day of his arrest warrant and Jack proceeds to tell him that he won't be there when the police will be. At this point of the film, it's clear that Courtin's friendship to Charles has become such a close bond that even Courtin admits in his director's statement: 'I was unsure sure if what I was doing was legal anymore.' This was intriguing to see how deep his connection with Charles had become. The seven year project had become something much more personal than Courtin had planned as the filmmaking had 'paled in comparison to the increasingly profound friendship we developed.' The audience does not see Courtin on screen at any point, which enhances the connection between the viewer and Charles. Meaning that as the film progresses, a sense of camaraderie is made between the two. This rare occurrence is one of the film's best qualities as we, the audience, are more closely connected with the protagonist of the film.

Bastardy is a remarkable Australian documentary, which displays the promising talents of Amiel Courtin-Wilson as an up and coming filmmaker. It is an incredible story displaying the extraordinary survival and perseverance of Jack Charles.

The Boss of It All (2006)

Because the boss of it all said so...

[7/10 · 17 September 2012]

Lars Von Trier's film, The Boss of It All (2006), is a successfully executed black comedy. The plot of the film revolves around an unemployed actor, Kristoffer, brilliantly played by Jens Albinus. The owner of an IT company, Ravn (Peter Gantzler), has told his employers of a fictitious character who is the 'boss of it all' in order to divert any unpopular decisions made by him. When a potential buyer of his company wants to meet the owner of the company in person, Ravn subsequently hires Kristoffer to act as the boss of Ravn's company. Kristoffer attempts to take on the 'boss of it all' persona in a serious manner, yet he is exposed to the audience as clueless and at times, idiotic. This provides much of the humour throughout the film where Kristoffer is so drawn in by the character, that he and 'the boss of it all' have become one and the same. As the story unfolds, the lies build and gather, one after the other, delving Kristoffer deeper and deeper into the continuous lies put forward by Ravn.

Writer-director, Von Trier, makes use of terrific dialogue through his actors. The whole cast gel together well and the way Albinus seamlessly becomes more drawn in by the charade makes for great entertainment. This film demonstrates a great example of how black comedy should be produced. The Coen Brothers surely must have taken some inspiration from Von Trier for their black comedy, Burn After Reading. Both films illustrate how something so stupid and unnecessary, snowballing into something taken seriously, can create such great humour. The dull visuals and chopped up cutting, effectively enhanced the mood of the film, creating a greater sense of reality and allowing the film to not be taken so seriously. The Boss of It All is genuinely hilarious, efficiently shot and well put together black-comedic film.

Inland Empire (2006)

Lynch's most disappointing work...

[4/10 · 10 September 2012]

David Lynch's mystery film, Inland Empire (2006), is like sitting through a chaotic nightmare that will never end. It exhibits the experience of an up-and-coming actress in Hollywood, named Nikki Grace (Laura Dern). The film begins with a storyline that appears relatively easy to understand for a David Lynch film. Nikki is cast as the lead role in a Hollywood film and lots of quirky characters are formed in the surroundings which make for a typical eerie but intriguing story to follow. The semi-cameo role from Jeremy Irons as the film director gave a shot in the arm of entertainment and Justin Theroux's character, Devon Berk, was intriguing and entertaining to follow. But when it becomes apparent that Nikki is sent some sort of parallel universe, the plot develops into an utterly confusing, unsettling and uncomfortable experience for the viewer. It is made very unclear as to who many of the characters are and how they came to be in the story. For much of the film, I wasn't sure how anything on screen could be described as relevant in any way. Only until later in the film do we come to understand what it was we sat through for two and a half hours. Even after that discovery, I still felt very unsatisfied and didn't really come to terms that this film has any relevance to anything at all.

The film consisted of low-budget cinematography yet it demonstrated high efficiency in getting the best out of its technology with some uniquely engaging shots. This was particularly evident throughout the frantic scenes of Laura Dern's character in the dark. However, on the whole, I was disappointed with Lynch's most recent film. His previous work like Mulholland Drive is a much greater demonstration of the talented work that Lynch is able to produce.

Chungking Express (1994)

Impressive soundtrack, inventive cinematography, yet still missing something...

[6/10 · 3 September 2012]

Wong Kar-wai's romance-drama, Chungking Express (1994), is story told in in two parts, each consisting of two Hong Kong policemen who are heartbroken from their respective ex- girlfriends. The first story drew me in by the quirkiness of Teshi Kaneshiro's character, He Zhiwu, Cop 223. The seamless charm that he carries with him through all his encounters was particularly engaging and was performed well by Kaneshiro. There was a certain curiosity that left me yearning for more with the woman in the blonde wig, played by Brigitte Lin. Yet, the end of the segment was somewhat unfulfilling, lacking closure and a genuine resolution to the story. However, I still feel as though the first story was more engaging and interesting to watch narratively. Whilst there was far more screen time for the character development of our main protagonist in the second story, it still seemed like we knew Cop 223 from the first, more intimately. This is thanks to the script, containing wonderfully poetic descriptions of his experience with love and heartbreak. When he has eats a month's worth of canned-pineapple that expires on May 1, (in reference to his ex-girlfriend, May) the description that he will either reunite with his love or that it will have 'expired' forever is filled with rich imagery that captured the characters thoughts, flawlessly.

The second story had weaker depth of characters due to the confusing plot line and generally less engaging characters. Faye (played by Faye Wong) added some quirkiness to the cast with her strange affection and obsession for Cop 663 (Tony Leung Chiu Wai).

The greatest aspect of the second story was its impressive soundtrack. For the whole film, the inventive cinematography using limited funds and unique techniques on a hand-held camera were its greatest strengths and what the film is deservedly recognised for.

Badlands (1973)

Film Review – Badlands

[6/10 · 26 August 2012]

Terrence Malick's crime-drama Badlands (1973), loosely based on the real-life murder spree of Charles Starkweather in 1958, is a harrowing and bleak film on a teenager's murderous adventure with his girlfriend. The film is told from the perspective of Holly (Sissy Spacek), a lost teenager living in a dull South Dakota town. She narrates the love story between herself and Kit (Martin Sheen), a young, charming man with looks that aren't dissimilar from James Dean. Holly is so smitten by him that she is corralled into becoming an accomplice during his killing spree, which commences with the murder of her disapproving father.

Initially, the couple finds temporary relaxation, living in a forest with wooden shelter and animals to feed on. However, when Kit senses danger from three men holding shotguns, he ruthlessly guns them down before they get the chance to threaten. This begins a pattern that transpires like dominos falling down one after the other as Kit murders anyone and everyone that stands in his path.

The film is well photographed by Tak Fujimoto with beautiful aesthetics of the colourful, vibrant and natural American countryside. This is the high point of Malick's film as well as the great performance from Martin Sheen. Whilst the story was engaging, it became too repetitive and tiresome after the same scenarios occurring from place to place on their killing spree. Personally, I found Badlands to be quite similar to Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde. However, Penn's is a far greater film to Malick's as Bonnie and Clyde has a superior constructed narrative consisting of characters that were explored with more depth

Although I didn't particularly enjoy Badlands, it must be acknowledged that it is an impressive debut feature-film from Malick, which is the start of a lengthy and impressive career.

Written on the Wind (1956)

A well-crafted melodrama

[7/10 · 23 April 2012]

Douglas Sirk's melodrama, Written On The Wind (1956), tells the story of Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson), a geologist for the Texan-owned Hadley Oil Company. The film follows Mitch's experience as not just a geologist to the company but also as a close family friend to the Hadley's. Mitch falls in love with Lucy Moore (Lauren Bacall), the wife of his childhood friend Kyle Hadley (Richard Stack). Moreover, Kyle's sister, Marylee (Dorothy Malone), remains in love with Mitch since childhood. Her nymphomaniac tendencies are a mechanism to appease the pain of her constant rejection from Mitch, and this is symbolic of the film as a whole.

As a result, they are entangled in a web of love, passion and desire. Fierce jealousy ensues between the characters, which ultimately leads them onto a path of destruction in their lives.

Dorothy Malone's Academy Award for her performance as Marylee is a testament to the quality of acting in the film. Whilst at times, over-the-top, Written On The Wind is a well-crafted melodrama.

The Gunfighter (1950)

The Gunfighter (1950) - A high quality western

[7/10 · 31 March 2012]

Henry King's western, The Gunfighter (1950), follows the story of Jimmy Ringo played by Gregory Peck. Ringo is a wanted murderer and known as the fastest draw in the west. A lot of ground is covered in the 85 minutes of the film as there is seemingly all the time in the world. This is largely due to King's direction for the camera to linger on two-shots throughout. The dialogue is fast, snappy, punchy and is delivered well by the actors. Peck puts in a strong performance, displaying the cool, calm and collected aura of the character that is reflected in the script.

Overall, The Gunfighter is a high quality western and a very enjoyable film. Although at times it felt slightly too slow, it holds up extremely well for a film that was made over 60 years ago, without lots of action and special effects.

I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)

Enjoyable, yet not completely satisfying

[6/10 · 24 March 2012]

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's romance film follows the story of Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller), a young middle class Englishwoman with ambitions. She thinks that she knows where she's going as she intends to travel to the Hebrides to marry Sir Robert Bellinger, a very wealthy industrialist. She encounters many complications that inhibit her from travelling to Kiloran upon her arrival on the Isle of Mull. This leads to her meeting Torquil MacNeil (Roger Livesey) with whom she makes a strong connection during her stay. The script itself doesn't exactly cause their connection or explicitly suggest the eventuality of a romance between the two. However, the on-screen chemistry between Hiller and Livesey enables the audience to make an allowance for that, and view it as an honest and realistic relationship. Overall, the film is well shot, presenting the audience with an aesthetically pleasing view of Scotland. On the whole, it is an enjoyable film.