Upstream Color: Art-House Science Fiction

Upstream Color is a 2013 science fiction film directed by Shane Carruth, who also plays a major part in the film. The film is one part con artist/thief and two parts science fiction. Here is the description from Amazon: A woman is abducted and hypnotized with an organic material harvested from a specific flower. When she falls for a man the two come to realized he may also have been subjected to the same process.

What was left out of the description (and this is minor spoiler territory) is the parasite introduced via the "organic material" and the "same process" doesn't explain much, but the two were abducted so a thief could rob them blind. The two fall for each other and try to put their lives back together, but the concoction they ingested has them recalling experiences they both shared and bonds them. I won't write anything more on the plot, but this film is beautiful and touching, but also ugly and disturbing.

If you prefer your science fiction (or film watching experience in general) spoon-fed to you, this film isn't for you. It's not even that surreal, certainly not in the same way as a Luis Buñuel or David Lynch film is surreal, but it is challenging, and I'm sure the long stretches without dialogue will turn some people off. I do not believe this slows the pace of the film, as the visuals are fascinating and thought-provoking. Upstream Color is both visceral and blunted at the same time, sharp, yet unfocused depending on what Carruth is attempting to get across.

Carruth not only directed the film, but wrote the soundtrack (which suits the film perfectly and would be a great soundtrack to have on in the background as I'm writing).

If you want something a little different from your science fiction, give this film a try. If you're a Hulu Plus subscriber, it's available for streaming there, or you can rent on Amazon.

In A Lonely Place

In A Lonely Place is one of the few films that nearly equals the novel upon which it was based. The novel of the same name, by Dorothy B. Hughes, is a masterpiece and quite daring for the time, the 1940s. Hughes compares quite favorably with James M. Cain (author of Mildred Pierce, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice) and in many ways surpasses him as a writer of noir. Her character development exceeds Cain's, in my opinion.

I highly recommend picking up a copy of Women Crime Writers - Four Suspense Novels of the 1940s. Not only do you get In A Lonely Place, but also, Laura (another wonderful film), The Horizontal Man, and The Blank Wall. There is another volume, but Suspense Novels of the 1950s. If you want both, I believe a box set is available.

I don't want to give away the novel or the film--though you'd think a novel from the 1940s and a film from 1950 should be fair game. But I've found so many people today haven't paid the classics any mind and that's a real shame. The novel is actually much darker than the film and ultimately heartbreaking and tragic (the film is also heartbreaking, but in a different way).

Criterion (I've gushed over Criterion products before on here and on social media) is releasing In A Lonely Place on 5/10/2016.  Criterion Blu-Rays are more expensive than other Blu-Rays, but if you're a film buff there are no better versions to buy. The films are restored versions and always have plenty of extras.

While the film deviates from the novel (it's a very loose adaptation), it doesn't take away from the novel. They're both equally enjoyable and tragic. So noir.
 

Turner Classic Movies

I recently dumped my satellite television service, and the channel I watched the most was TCM.  This isn't a post about satellite or cable or even TCM the cable channel (which is the only reason I was even holding on to my satellite for so long).

Have you ever wanted to see Jaws on the big screen? How about Gone With The Wind or Casablanca? How about Grease? Hitchcock films?

Guess what? You can.

Turner Classic Movies has been bringing classic films back to the big screen. These films usually only play for two days, but if you follow TCM's schedule you'll be in for a treat.  Last year, we enjoyed Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, and Rear Window. If you haven't seen those, go watch them immediately, you're missing out. All three of those are in the top 50 films of all time.

This year, TCM's schedule is full of great films:

Jaws 40th Anniversary – Sunday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 24
Double Indemnity – Sunday, July 19 and Monday, July 20
Grease Sing-A-Long – Sunday, August 16 and Wednesday, August 19 
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho – Sunday, September 20 and Wednesday, September 23
Dracula (1931)/Drácula (1931) Double Feature – Sunday, October 25 and Wednesday, October 28
Roman Holiday – Sunday, November 29 and Tuesday, December 1
Miracle on 34th Street – Sunday, December 20 and Wednesday, December 23

We missed Jaws, which I would have loved to have seen in the theater (I was 5 when that came out, but I remember being terrified of the movie poster and ads). I didn't want anything to do with water at that point and I hadn't even seen the picture!

However, we did see Double Indemnity--not only one of the all-time great film noir films, but one of the all-time great films. Read the short novel by James M. Cain, then watch the film starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson. The movie was directed by Billy Wilder (now go and watch every single film this man directed--want a sample? Some Like It Hot, Hollywood Boulevard, Stalag 17, The Apartment).

You can sit home and watch these films, but there is something to be said for heading to the theater and experiencing them on a big screen, surrounded by others who also appreciate these movies. I'm looking forward to Psycho--not my favorite Hitchcock film, but it will be amazing on the big screen. During the original release, theater owners would not allow people in once the film began.

I almost forgot Ghostbusters. In 2014, TCM also re-released Ghostbusters for the film's 30th anniversary. What I loved about the release was that a bunch of high school kids showed up and had fun. I remember seeing the movie with a bunch of friends when it came out in 1984--I was 14. To see modern teenagers laughing and enjoying the movie made me smile and think that perhaps these final gasp Millennials/tip of the spear Generation Z kids aren't all that bad--boy do I sound like an old and curmudgeonly Gen-X'er right now.

Check out the website for TCM's film lineup and go see an old movie!

The Marx Brothers: A Night At The Opera

I tell people at work they need to give the Marx Brothers a chance. However, I usually get the same responses from them:  "Black and white movies are boring!" or "I don't get that sort of humor." or "Who are the Marx Brothers?"

Boring? Not the Marx Brothers. Not at all. And who are the Marx Brothers? Groucho? Harpo? Chico? Zeppo? Gummo?  Okay, I'll give people Gummo and Zeppo (Gummo didn't appear in any of the films, but Zeppo appeared in all the Paramount films). But everyone should know Groucho, Chico, and Harpo.

Two of the Marx Brothers' films are in AFI's top 100 movies of all time:  Duck Soup at #60 and A Night At The Opera at #85. They also have five of the top 100 comedies of all time according to AFI--not too shabby.

If you were interested in getting into the Marx Brothers, I recommend beginning with A Night At The Opera.

Why Opera and not Duck Soup, or Animal Crackers, or A Day At the Races? Or [insert any Marx Brothers film here]?

A Night At The Opera was their first film with MGM after the contract with Paramount ended. What most fans enjoy about the Paramount films is the anarchic chaos and when the brothers went over to MGM, Zeppo left (he was usually the straight man), leaving Groucho, Chico, and Harpo. Gummo never appeared in the films and never really developed an onstage persona like the rest of his brothers. It's my opinion that A Night At The Opera serves as a great way to bridge the gap between the anarchic Paramount films and the slightly less anarchic MGM films.

MGM wanted more of a plot and a story where the brothers were clearly against a villain, or at least an antagonist.  In their earlier films, they were more ambiguously good and unpredictable.  A Night At The Opera maintains much of their anarchic behavior, but also casts them as good guys trying to right some wrong. Opera has the brothers fighting high society and attempting to bring two young lovers together, which then brings chaos to an ocean liner as well as a production of the opera Il Trovatore in New York City.

A warning though: if you're actually going to watch the Marx Brothers--pay attention!  You have to watch and listen to these films. The word play and the gags are almost non-stop and the results aren't always immediately apparent. If you look at the Three Stooges, they can be funny, but are more of a one-trick pony in that they rely mainly on slapstick (basically finding new ways to hurt each other), but the Marx Brothers have it all--slapstick, witty wordplay, and clever situations that allow for great gags (a packed stateroom aboard an ocean liner or a two bedroom apartment where they switch all the furniture right under the nose of a cop making him believe he's going mad).

Groucho's characters usually direct the chaos, but with sharp wit and occasionally breaking the 4th wall.  He begins most of the films having a position of some sort or a person of standing, even if it's been entirely fabricated or it's a sham.

Chico's (pronounced Chick-O) characters are often a partner or friend of Harpo's characters. Chico usually has a scheme of some sort.  Most of the films have a sequence where he plays the piano--he's very entertaining to watch play, as his fingers dance upon the keys in unusual ways--he'll make you laugh just watching him play.  Chico and Groucho often have a long exchange (over a contract for instance), but from what I've read, they ad-libbed  quite a bit during the routines one-upping each other.

Harpo's characters never speak (well, there was one time where he sang from inside a barrel, but it was brief), and he's the most unpredictable and chaotic of the three.  His coat is packed with an odd array of items and he's often relieving people of their possessions and toying with them. Like Chico with the piano, Harpo is usually given a sequence where he plays the harp. His playing is magical and engaging--he doesn't play the harp in a way to make you laugh like Chico with the piano, but it's enjoyable and easy on the ears.

Start with A Night At The Opera, and if you enjoy that one, try A Day At The Races.  If you're still curious and want more, I'd say go with Duck Soup.  At this point, you've been warmed up to the Marx Brothers and will enjoy Duck Soup--it's also the final Paramount film and last film in which Zeppo appeared. Many fans of the brothers cite Duck Soup as their favorite (it's my second favorite, after Opera, of course).

What makes the Marx Brothers so special is the variety and range they display--they could do it all. Music, singing, dancing, wordplay, physical comedy were all a result of their stage careers as vaudeville performers. I can't think of anyone today who could pull off what the Marx Brothers did so effortlessly, and at a time when talkies were new and special effects didn't drive films. Modern comedies simply cannot stand up to the Marx Brothers at their best (maybe even at their worst).

There are a few collections out there, a Paramount set as well as an MGM set.  Turner Classic Movies sells them as does Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  You may even be able to stream them (since I own all the films I haven't investigated that option).

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

This is a movie I wish I'd seen earlier. It's one of those things that you wanted to see, but no one else you know saw it and you missed it in the theaters. And then I remember getting the DVD in the mail from Netflix and never watched it and sent it back after two months. And then once it was streamable, it sat in my streaming queue forever and so on until one day I was bored...

There is a set of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley out there that the film was based on, and to be honest, I've never read them, but now I may just have to do that.  I don't know what it is about this flick, but I can watch it over and over--I even bought the soundtrack.

Okay, enough gushing without even providing reasons--and there are many. Based on the poster I wouldn't have given the movie a shot. So:

The poster looked kind of dumb to me and in no way can convey how cool the movie is. A kid with a red sword, a girl with goggles on her head and a bunch of demented freaks overhead. Based on the poster I would have thought this was a movie for kids, something like Spykids and that sort of rot. But this isn't that sort of movie.

Music has as much, if not more to do with the film than the video game angle to be honest. Scott Pilgrim is in a band. His ex-girlfriend is in a band that became popular and she broke Scott's heart. Scott sees a girl he becomes obsessed with and learns he has to defeat all of her evil exes before they can truly be together.

Scott's band, Sex Bob-omb plays a series of battle of the bands shows in order to get a contract. Along the way he fights all of these evil exes. The fights are video game style and over the top ridiculous, but a lot of fun to watch.  Watching Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim) go toe-to-toe with Chris Evans (the guy who plays Captain America) and then Brandon Routh (who played Superman in Superman Returns back in 2006) is amusing.

Scott is a bass player and plays a sweet Sunburst Rickenbacker bass (I own a tuxedo Rickenbacker bass from the 70s), so in the first 5 minutes of the movie I was already liking what I was seeing.  And then the music hit:  I love the music in this movie. There is a good mix of tunes and some that were written for the bands in the movie to play. The music has a mostly retro, overdriven feel to it.  I believe Beck had a hand in writing some of the original music used in the movie. Other songs in the movie are from groups such as:  Metric, The Bluetones, Black Lips, and T. Rex.

The special effects throughout the movie are fun--there are often overlays like when someone is introduced it typically shows their name, age, and what they do next to them.  When a phone or bell rings it shows a ringing sound like:  r-r-r-r-r-r-r-ring.  When music is played sonic waves shoot forth and during fights there are some thuds and whacks reminiscent of the old 60s Batman television program. None of the effects detract or become distracting--they add to the film's charm.

So, if you're into music, video games, action, and comedy, give this movie a chance.