No Mod Required

300 : I have a few notes to get out of the way:

• I haven't seen a movie (any movie) in nearly a month. That sucks. It's the downside of being in demand, I guess. Good with the bad, or something like that…
• I can't believe it's taken me this long to see this movie. Seriously. I lerved the comic it was drawn from and the style of it looked pretty mesmerizing. Still it took me a year to actually sit down and watch this film. Someone shoot me.
• After a good pace to start the year, my movie watching pace has slowed considerably and I'm going to have to step it up a little bit to meet even my meager movie-a-week goal. I used to have weekend where I saw more movies than I've seen this year.

Sigh.

As for this movie in specific- hell yeah.

A pitch-perfect adaptation of Miller's classic graphic novel, 300 is a violent maelstrom of testosterone. The look of this film evokes the lush feel of the comic pages produced by Miller and Lynn Varley and manages to heighten them with excellent cinematography, visual effects, solid editing and truly marvelous action direction choreography.

Telling the story of 300 Spartans holding a tiny pass against a horde of Persian invaders, 300 takes that simple set-up and manages to pad it out to nearly two hours of seat gripping, rah-rah excitement.

All that said, I'll be the first to admit it's not for everyone. It's basically two hours of killing and screaming (stylishly executed), which isn't everyone's cup of tea (although it is mine.) Also, if you're the type to analyze a film for sociological/political/sexual messages you poke around the edges it's pretty easy to find something disagreeable within the borders of this particular universe.

Still, I can't say I've had as good a time watching a movie in a long while, so for my money it's a winner.

Yeah, I'm posting a commercial for free. I know.

Look, I'm doing it again

And again. this one is a real classic- Cantona's Au Revoir at the end pleases me to no end.

Contempt Le Mépris

While not my favorite of Godard's films, Contempt is still a film worth seeking out- especially in a newly restore print making the rounds. While any of Godard's films from the period are worth the time on their own merits, Contempt is most noteworthy, at least to these eyes, for being a classic vehicle for Brigitte Bardot.

For starters, she's lovingly filmed- which is a singularly enjoyable enhancement to any film - assuming your preference is for women. Thankfully, since I saw this with my girlfriend, her performance is truly memorable, which makes the whole male gaze thing more palatable for folks who are less interested in staring at Bardot for an hour and a half. For most of the film's 100 minute running time, she's a mistress of attitude, posture and expression, grinding her husband (for whom she feels the titular contempt) into paste. Possessing an incredible, hypnotic screen presence, Bardot owns the film completely and does so much in the details it's basically impossible to take your eyes off of her. That includes the time she spends partnered up with scene swallower Jack Palance. If she can deflect that guy's ability to distract and annoy you know she's up to something.

Check it out if you get the chance.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

This is a fun, fascinating documentary about the quest for the world Donkey Kong record. Well crafted, creative and thoroughly enjoying, King of Kong is a perfect example of why documentary format can so rewarding. It's a well worn phrase, but it really is true that you can't make stuff like this up. Simplifying the real life race for the record (and some associated milestones) down to a two man battle between good (Steve Wiebe, a math and science teacher from Washington) and evil (Billy Mitchell, douche) the film presents a compelling ninety minute view into the disparate lives of the two contenders and the world of competitive, classic gaming.

I'm actually clearing out a lot of links I've wanted to share and just haven't. A lot of these aren't big enough for a post of their own, so it's link post day around here.

Classic Photographs Remade in Lego

Classics in Lego - a photoset on Flickr

Pretty straightforward link. My favorite is the recreation of Robert Capa's Death of a Loyalist Soldier

Du rififi chez les hommes

Filmmaker Jules Dassin, 96, Dies

Have I mentioned how much I love Rififi? I love it to pieces. Dassin had an excellent career, with several excellent entries (Topkapi, Night and the City, The Naked City, Thieves' Highway, etc.) spanning a career lasting nearly four decades. He was a real talent.

Libertines Musical?

Five Reasons a Libertines Musical Isn't a Terrible Idea

I have nothing to say on the matter. I just wanted you all to know there was the possibility of a Libertines musical.

Now you know.

Neutral Milk Hotel

Have you seen Jeff Mangum?

Neutral Milk Hotel's bandleader built a faith on the transcendent power of music. Then, when he needed it most, he gave up on it.

A pretty definitive look at the story of NMH front man Jeff Mangum.

I ran across the paintings of artist Chow Chun Fai on David Bordwell's blog Observations on film art and FILM ART and I immediately consulted Google to learn more. Recreating stills from Hong Kong films in a raw, but faithful style, the paintings speak to me in a big way. I'd love to own one. The following, stills from King Hu's classic Dragon Inn and Andrew Lau's more recent masterpiece Infernal Affairs, are prime examples of the style:

For more visit the artist's site:

CHOW Chun Fai Artworks

Yeah, I watched The Matrix again.

Instead of me writing something new about it- and therefore having to dredge up the unpleasant memory of the sequels; why don't you read this old article I wrote about Yuen Wo-Ping instead?

Lady Snowblood - Love Song of Vengeance The short answer? I liked this film this much (opens hands up really wide).

While this isn't great cinema, it is certainly entertaining cinema. Wildly so. A steely eyed-murderess slashes her way through a corrupt cabal in charge of Meiji era Japan?

Yes.

Toss in some black death (as a biological weapon!) and a half dozen blood geysers and you've got the makings of a to notch pass-the-popcorn genre flick.

I am a sucker for this period and genre, so your mileage may vary, but if you've ever seen and enjoyed a Zatoichi movie then this will be a film for you.

La Vie en Rose

With Let's Get Lost I had quite a back to back with the movies recently. Both are excellent films about incredible talents with a strong thread of tragedy running through their lives- great cinema, definitely in the downer column. There are worse things, of course, I just thought I'd point it out.

This, the story of iconic French singer, Edith Piaf, is truly a great film. It'd be tough to go wrong with the source material, but it really beat my expectations. That's due mostly to the incredible performance turned in by Marion Cotillard. On the surface it's a stereotypical "great" performance. Aided by makeup and highlighted by the physical transformations brought on by Piaf's poor health, the showy aspects of this performance are of the type that I'm usually skeptical of when similar performances are held up as truly transcendent accomplishments (I'm looking at you Charlize Theron in Monster.) The thing is, in this case the obvious changes are buoyed by a heartbreakingly honest portrayal of the complicated inner life of the singer. makeup or no makeup the emotion that plays out across just Cotillard's eyes is enough to get me nodding my head in approval. It's truly a wonderful performance.

Beyond that, and that's all you really need in my book, the rest of the film is also excellent. Based on the little sparrow's fascinating, tragic life, the film is well written, paced nicely and well acted across the board. It's a painful thing to watch, especially with the empathy generated by Cotillard's performance, but there's a beauty in the pain, much like Piaf's music itself.

I can't go on without mentioning the music. The film is obviously full of Piaf's music and, for me, that would have been worth the price of admission alone. It's a glorious, unique* thing, her voice and spending a couple of hours getting to know it and the life behind it better was something special.

All in all this is an excellent film and one that is most highly recommended.

*It's interesting that I say unique here, because there are several scenes voiced by an uncanny Piaf soundalike named Jil Aigrot- as I learned from this feature on PRI's The World.

I'm not sold on this idea. Otomo is signed on as executive producer, so there's that, but still… I have visions of a rat in front of the statehouse running through my mind.

I'm looking at you Martin Scorcese.

WB takes franchise turn with 'Akira'

Warner Bros. will turn anime artist Katsuhiro Otomo's six-volume graphic novel "Akira" into two live-action feature films, the first of which is being fast tracked for release in summer 2009. Legendary will co-finance with WB.