Me And My Big Mouth

Reporting Back: Dr Strangelove

Last week my post about films I haven't seen got lots of you talking and sparked some interesting discussions both here and on Twitter. I am not particularly proud of the list, fun though it was to make, and I really do intend to check out as many of thise films as I can in the year ahead.

I started with Doctor Strangelove. The Cold War satire which received Oscar nominations for Stanley Kubrick as Best Director and Peter Sellers as Best Actor as well as for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

It was, I'll be honest with you, a bit of a disappointment. I like Kubrick. I like Sellers. I love Lolita in which they also worked together. And while I can imagine that Dr Strangelove may have had some genuine satirical clout when in was first released, slap bang in the middle of the Cold War itself, it lacked any real punch today. I would politely suggest that it hasn't aged well. It was, if anything, a bit tame.

I expected something more manic, something more agitated, something more, well, more funny. I didn't laugh once.

Please feel free to disagree with me below.

Films I Haven't Seen

Following my Blade Runner confession last week, here are some more films I haven't seen.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Schindler's List

Seven Samuarai

Once Upon a Time in the West

Dr Strangelove

Apocalypse Now

Alien

Aliens

The Shining

WALL-E

Lawrence of Arabia

To Kill a Mockingbird

Back to the Future

Das Boot

The Third Man

The Green Mile

Chinatown

Once Upon a Time in America

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Raging Bull

Return of the Jedi

The Sting

The Lion King

On the Waterfront

Heat

The Deer Hunter

Scarface

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Into the Wild

Gone with the Wind

Life of Brian

Stand by Me

Network

Manhattan

Magnolia

Monsters Inc.

All taken from the IMDb Top 250 Films of all Time.

So, which one should I make sure I watch next?

And which 'classics' have you not got round to watching yet?

The Book You Can Read Between Meals Without Ruining Your Appetite

There is a certain and very particular pleasure in reading a book in a day. A sense of achievement. It needs to be a long book, mind, none of your novellas or poetry collections. Fine as they are, they're just, well, too short to really count.

There was once a time when I regularly polished off a book in a day. This was a time before I had children. Or any responsibilities to speak of. I would happily sit in my armchair for hours on end, only surfacing to attend the call of nature or shove a bacon sandwich down my throat. Happy days. I am welling up just thinking about them.

Well, I turned the clock back on Saturday (metaphorically speaking, otherwise it would have been awfully confusing what with actually putting the clocks forward on Sunday) by reading The Hunger Games from start to finish. Go me. Why the rush? Well, we had booked tickets to see the movie on Sunday morning and I was overcome by the urge to read the novel beforehand. This was accomplished by forgoing all social engagements (OK, I had none) and largely ignoring my family (they didn't mind). 450 pages after I started, I was finished. Simple.

A review at this point is hardly worth anyone's time. The books have sold nigh on 30 million copies and the film had one of the biggest opening weekends in cinema history. But I will say this. I found them both to be gripping, genuinely thrilling and intelligent. They pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable as children's or teenage entertainment about as far as they could go. The film achieved what the best adaptations have to - it took out the weaker bits of the book and ensured the additions helped the narrative - and the perfomances, especially that of Jennifer Lawrence, are top notch.

I realise a great many book-to-movie franchises are over-hyped and disappointing. I dare to suggest that this is one rare exception.

And I shall end with this. As soon as we got home from the cinema, Martha picked up Ethan's battered old copy of The Hunger Games and read the first 100 pages or so in one sitting. It is that kind of book.

Shhh!

OK, so I saw The Artist at the weekend and it is certainly very good - charming, sweet, brave and refreshing - but it isn't that good. At least, not as good as everyone and his uncle are making it out to be.

And no, this isn't me being my usual contrary self, as I did like it and enjoyed my trip to the cinema, but it didn't wow me, it didn't move me and it isn't something I have any desire to see again.

I was impressed that anyone had the balls to make such a movie in this age of CGI, endless sequels and mindless blockbusters, I really am. But I will confess that I was left a little, well, disappointed.

Just me?

Of Fights and Men

I went to a screening of this film a couple of nights ago.

It really is very good but I think they've misjudged the trailer. This isn't really a gangster thriller or a fighting movie - it is actually a reimagining/reworking of Of Mice and Men.

A petty criminal, Danny (Stephen Graham), cares for a giant of a man with learning difficulties, Joseph (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). When Danny gets in trouble with a local crime boss he persuades Joseph to take part in a series of illegal cage fights in order to pay off his debt.  OK, so far it sounds like a gangster/fighting flick, I grant you, but what has been left out of the trailer is the sub plot about Joseph falling in love with a young woman, also with learning difficulties, played by Maxine Peake.

I say 'learning difficulties' as I have no idea what the acceptable terminology is these days. Special needs? Luckily the film is down-to-earth and honest and doesn't pussyfoot around like I am. The characters speak as they would in real life, which does result in one very funny line which everyone in the audience laughed at but wouldn't dare repeat outside of the cinema*.

The subplot is handled with skill and care. The actors all turn in fine performances, especially Stephen Graham as the quick-witted but ultimately self-destructive central character and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as the simple giant, Joseph. Their relationship, as you discover more and more about it, it utterly believable and is the central spine of the whole film. It's not a life changer, and falters when a few well-worn cliches find their way into the script, but it is, overall, a fine piece of work and well worth checking out if you get the chance.

*"Two mongs don't make a right."

My 99 Minutes With Marilyn

I saw this movie last week.

I found it utterly charming. And Michelle Williams really does light up the screen every time she walks into shot. Just saying.

This is Cool

Spike Jonze: Mourir Auprès de Toi on Nowness.com.

A must-see if you are a fan of books and don't mind watching skeletons have sex.

Selected Scenes from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

INT. MILLENNIUM OFFICES - DAY.

DANIEL CRAIG

Mumblemumblemumble

ROBIN WRIGHT

Why are you mumbling? It's the start of the movie, people need to understand what's going on.

DANIEL CRAIG

It's so that no one realises that I'm not doing an accent.

ROBIN WRIGHT

You're not doing an accent? I'm doing an accent, why aren't you?

DANIEL CRAIG

I can't do Swedish. I can have a crack at American. I also do a good spy accent. Just not Swedish.

ROBIN WRIGHT

Isn't that sort of the whole point though? This is an American remake but we are all pretending to be Swedish. All the writing is in Swedish. Look at the headline of our pretend magazine - Swedish.

DANIEL CRAIG

Yeah, sorry about that. I plan to get my arse crack out later to distract people.

ROBIN WRIGHT

That's not much use to me now, I am having to shoulder all the accent duties. I am not best pleased, Daniel.

DANIEL CRAIG

Again, I'm sorry.

ROBIN WRIGHT

That's OK, I suppose, my ex-husband was pretty shit at accents as well. Now, when do we get to see this arse crack of yours?

DANIEL CRAIG

Not till later on, those opening credits were great though, weren't they?

 

INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM - DAY

DANIEL CRAIG

What the fuck are you doing here?

MARTIN JARVIS

I'm sorry?

DANIEL CRAIG

Shouldn't you be narrating a Just William audiobook or something? You're not a movie actor.

MARTIN JARVIS

At least I'm doing a fucking Swedish accent, dearie.

STELLAN SKARSGARD

Gentlemen, please. If it makes you feel any better I am the only real Swedish person in the cast and my accent sounds American.

DANIEL CRAIG

He's got a point.

 

INT. LISBETH SALANDER'S APARTMENT - MORNING

DANIEL CRAIG

Hello, I'm Mikael Blomqvist. I've brought you some breakfast but you are not having any till your lesbian lover leaves the building.

ROONEY MARA

Hang on, what's that accent you're doing?

DANIEL CRAIG

I'm not doing one.

ROONEY MARA

Why the fuck not?

DANIEL CRAIG

David Fincher gave me special permission.

ROONEY MARA

Let me get this straight. I've got my nose pierced, my eyebrow pierced, I've even got my tit pierced, I will shortly have unspeakable things done to my bottom and I'm doing a Swedish accent but you can't be bothered?

DANIEL CRAIG

It's not that, it's just that my Swedish accent ends up sounding a bit Welsh.

ROONEY MARA

It's because you are James Bond, isn't it?

DANIEL CRAIG

I will be getting my arse crack out later if that helps at all?

 

INT. POLICE STATION - DAY

ROONEY MARA

Aren't you Jim from Neighbours?

JIM from NEIGHBOURS

Shh, today I am being a Swedish policeman.

ROONEY MARA

You're in everything now, aren't you?

JIM from NEIGHBOURS

Well, yes, I do pop up now and again. It is because of my ability to do a range of accents. Did you see me in the shit Indiana Jones movie?

ROONEY MARA

Your Swedish is very good, better than Daniel's.

JIM from NEIGHBOURS

Yes, I had noticed. Between you and me, I think he gets away with it because he is James Bond.

ROONEY MARA

Have you got any gossip about Kylie?

 

INT. COTTAGE - NIGHT

DANIEL CRAIG

If you could hurry up and stitch this wound then I can get my arse crack out to make up for the no accent thing.

ROONEY MARA

OK, hold still.

DANIEL CRAIG

It's a nice arse, by the way, not hairy.

ROONEY MARA

So I've heard.

DANIEL CRAIG

I am sure you'll feel much better about things once I've given it an airing.

ROONEY MARA

So much so that I will take off all my clothes and have sex with you?

DANIEL CRAIG

Hopefully, yeah.

ROONEY MARA

Well, it's in the script so you are pretty much on a promise, sunshine.

DANIEL CRAIG

You're very good, by the way.

ROONEY MARA

How would you know? I haven't shagged you yet.

DANIEL CRAIG

No, I mean in the role. As Lisbeth. You're very good.

ROONEY MARA

As good as Noomi Rapace?

DANIEL CRAIG

Well, perhaps not quite as good as her but you're the best thing in this remake by a mile.

ROONEY MARA

I can always change my mind about that shag, you know.

DANIEL CRAIG

No, you can't do that.

ROONEY MARA

Why not?

DANIEL CRAIG

Fincher's already changed the ending so we've got to keep the sex scene in otherwise fans of the book will be up in arms.

ROONEY MARA

OK, well get that arse crack ready, your luck's in.

A Couple of Late Entries

I stand by my fine selection of Movies of the Year from a couple of weeks ago but I have since seen two more that would certainly have made the list.

Had I seen them in time.

Which I didn't.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a remarkable piece of filmmaking. Excruciating to watch, at times, without ever being gratuitous or graphic. Tilda Swinton gives a harrowing and breathtaking performance, and if she hadn't accidentally been given an Oscar for her role in Michael Clayton then she'd walk the award next year. She has lovely ears.

Ryan Gosling also has lovely ears. He doesn't say much in Drive but that doesn't seem to matter.

Kevin is still on in cinemas and whilst it isn't really festive fare it is worth making an affort to see it. Drive comes out on DVD in January. One to spend you Christmas gift vouchers on.

Movies of the Year: Number 1

Quite simply one of the most uplifting movies I have ever seen. Annoyingly, it is not on general release as of yet, has no trailer with English subtitles and isn't available on DVD anywhere.

You'll just have to trust me. Or speak Japanese, Or Spanish (for some reason the YouTube trailer I have found has Spanish subtitles).

I saw I Wish (Kiseki is its original Japanese title) at the London Film Festival and it put me in a good mood that lasted for weeks. Two young brothers are separated following their parents' divorce - one lives with mum, the other lives with dad. The older brother wants more than anything else for his family to get back together and when he hears a classmate claim that if you stand by the railway tracks while two bullet trains pass each other then any wish you make will come true he decides to go on a pilgrimage to do just that.

He enlists the help of a bunch of mates and brings his brother, and lots of his friends, in on the plan as well. They arrange to meet at the place they believe the trains will cross, and each of them has a wish they want granting.

Which is all very sweet and charming but the movie is never too saccharine. It is quirky with dark edges and is happy to leave certain threads untied. You also realise that every adult in the movie also has a longing, a wish that they would want to come true, but they are older and more cynical and don't believe in such things.

This particular grown up left the cinema with a smile on his face that didn't leave it for some time. And, I will confess, I even made a wish.

It didn't come true but, fuck it, that's not the point. The fact that it made me want to is quite something in itself.

The movie went straight into my all-time top ten and is my favourite of 2011 by a mile.

I hope you get a chance to see it soon.

And, having put up with my picks for most of this week, do please tell me what your favourite movies were this year, I am always on the lookout for good recommendations.

Movies of the Year: 4...3...2...

4. Barney's Version

I watched this on my iPad while hanging around in a hotel room. I had no real expectations of it but it turned out to be hilarious, and also rather moving. Great performances throughout. And the old romantic in me was charmed by the idea of never giving up on your one true love. No matter how long you have to wait.

3. Blue Valentine

Almost painful to watch in places, especially if you have ever been one half of a relationship that is slowly deteriorating, but captivating nonetheless. This is mainly down to Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling who shimmer with beauty and magic at times but are prepared to appear ugly and warped and unpleasant as their marriage falls apart. Scenes jump back and forth between their early days and their current predicament and that juxtaposition of happiness and hope alongside sadness and resignation is as close to unbearable as I have experienced when watching a movie.

2. Dogtooth

Absolutely fucking bonkers.

Tune in tomorrow for my pick of movie of the year.

Movies of the Year: 7...6...5...

More cinematic treats for you.

7. The Great Bear

A Danish computer animation which we took the kids to see during London Film Festival. Easily the best movie I have seem with them for many a year. Scary, magical, touching and funny. I have no idea if it will get a proper UK release but it deserves to.

6. Krabat

My favourite book as a child (see here) which I then went on to republish as an adult (see here) finally made it to the screen in the UK. It was released in Germany a couple of years ago but I was delighted to see a subtitled (and dubbed) edition released so that I could enjoy it with Ethan and Martha. It did not disappoint.

5. Mesrine: Parts 1 & 2

Two films that dramatise the life of a notorious French gangster. Vincent Cassel prowls the screen like some sort of big cat. His performance anchors the whole thing. I knew nothing about the true story and was mesmerised from start to finish. Well worth seeking out.

Numbers 4, 3 and 2 are unveiled tomorrow.

Movies of the Year: 10...9...8...

I have been able to see quite a few movies in the cinema this year. That may not sound particularly unusual but when you are married with kids it can be hard to find the time, babysitters and motivation for a night out at the flicks together. Fortunately, Mrs Big Mouth doesn't object to me having the occasional jaunt into London with an approved cinema companion so I have managed to squeeze in a decent number of films during 2011.

Of course, some of the movies in this top ten were watched at home on the sofa, or on my iPad in various locations, but they were all viewed by me for the first time this year which is the only qualification necessary.

10. The Skin I Live In

I think I have enjoyed every Pedro Almodovar film I have ever seen. I just don't feel compelled to watch his stuff all that often. I have a box set floating around somewhere, which includes most of his best work, but many of the DVDs in it are unwatched. Not sure why. Perhaps I am just lazy.

I did watch his new one though. Antonio Banderas is a surgeon who appears to be holding a woman captive in his home. As far as you can tell, early on, he is experimenting on her in some way. It is most peculiar. The true story unfolds, largely in flashback, and reveals itself to be completely bizarre. It is twisted and horrific but has its own sense of logic which makes it most compelling. Not a film you'll forget in a hurry.

9. Winter's Bone

I watched this on my iPad while staying in a cabin on the banks of Loch Fyne. The wind and rain beating against the roof sometimes made the (often mumbled) dialogue inaudible but there was no getting away from the stunning central performance by Jennifer Lawrence. She's good. Very good.

8. Black Swan

You don't need me to tell you much about this one. Claustrophobic, dark, dense and disturbing. Both Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis are excellent. One cinema trip that will stay with me for a long time.

Three more gems tomorrow.

Popcorn and Monsters

Took the kids to see a couple of movies at the London Film Festival last weekend.

Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Below was a really interesting Japanese animation with quite a complex plot involving an ancient race living beneath the surface of the Earth. Every now and again it threw up something that was as visually impressive and emotionally engaging as Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke but it could have done with losing twenty minutes (it had one of those Lord of the Rings endings that just went on and on) and didn't quite hang together for me. It did have some very scary monsters though. Worth checking out when it comes to DVD.

The Great Bear was a Danish computer animation which turned out to be one of the best kids' films I have seen in ages. And I have to watch a lot. Would be right up there with the finest, I'd say. Jonathan's sister is winding him up while they are staying with his grandfather but when she vanishes in the great forest he goes looking for her, not counting on the bloody massive bear that lives there. Great characters, stunning visuals and a genuinely moving plot. I really hope this gets a general English language release as it is an absolute belter.

 

I Wish

I have been making the effort to see a few movies at the London Film Festival this year.

This one was wonderful.

(Can't find a trailer with subtitles, sorry.)

It is from the director of After Life and Nobody Knows and tells the story of two brothers who live with different parents in different cities following a divorce. The older brother hears another kid at school say that if you make a wish when two bullet trains travelling in opposite directions cross each other it will come true.

The brothers and their friends decide to make a pilgrimage to the place on the line where they think the trains will cross, each of them with a wish they want to make.

But as the kids prepare for this expedition you realise that the grown-ups around them each have unfulfilled wishes as well. The parking attendant who dreams of being a baker, the musician who wants his band to break the big time, the mother who wants to see her son again.

This is a fim about those small moments in life which determine how our futures unfold or what memories and regrets we will take into adulthood and, in a subtle montage at the end, I Wish literally captures these on screen. It is one of the most heartbreaking and uplifting films I think I have ever seen.

The performances are superb: the adults restrained and content with staying in the background, the children all excelling with a couple of standout performances to rival that little chap in Cinema Paradiso.

I am not sure if I Wish will get a general release but if it does I urge you to go see it. It has shot straight into my all time top ten. It is that good.

Happy Families

In the past week or so I have seen two rather disturbing movies about dysfunctional families. One was, I think, a masterpiece. The other, a disappointment.

Dogtooth is a peculiar Greek movie that was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. A husband and wife raise their children without ever letting them leave the boundaries of their house. They achieve this by feeding them elaborate tales of wild beasts and unspeakable dangers but as the kids become adults the parents go to ever more bizarre lengths to keep their family intact. When the father brings home a co-worker who he pays to 'service' their son, the influence of the outside world finally creeps in.

Imagine if Mike Leigh and David Lynch had a fling while on holiday in Greece. This would be their lovechild. It is incredible. Do try to see it if you can.

We Are What We Are was hailed by critics as Let The Right One In but with cannibals instead of vampires. I can see what they are getting at but this Mexican movie isn't a patch on that modern Swedish classic. When their father dies, the surviving family have to fend for themselves, and seeing as how they've been living on a diet of human flesh you can see how this might present a problem.

There were brief flashes of dark brilliance but most of the movie was flapping around in search of a sense of purpose. It wasn't funny enough to be a black comedy, cutting enough to be a satire or clever enough to be a metaphor for anything else. It ended up a clumsy mess, albeit one with some great scenes of cannibal food preparation.

Isn't It Good?

GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE NORWEGIAN WOOD MOVIE

• It looks great.
• Cinematography and set design are stunning.
• Some strong central performances. Kenichi Matsuyama who plays Toru and Kiko Mizuhara as Midori are particularly good.
• Appears to capture the look and feel of 60s Japan (although what would I know?)

BAD THINGS ABOUT THE NORWEGIAN WOOD MOVIE

• The score, by Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead, just doesn't fit with the images on screen. It is far too invasive. It gets in the way. No score should do that.
• Instead, it would have been great to have used some of the music mentioned in the book - Mantovani, American jazz - but no sight, nor sound, of these. We do get some songs by Can, which sort of work, but they don't actually appear in the book so not sure why they are there.
• The director appears to have ignored all the humour in the novel and focused on the tragic love story at the book's centre.
• Not only that, he stretches that love story out far longer than he needed to, resulting in him rushing through the first third of the book and failing to pick up on the important bits at the end.
• Rinko Kikuchi, Oscar-nominated for her performance in Babel, plays Naoko as a bit too full-on mental. There's a lot of acting going on. Everyone else was a bit more laid back.
• Too many of the book's best bits are left out. This happens a lot in film adaptations, and I shouldn't be surprised, but why do it in a Japanese language version of one of the bestselling books in Japanese history? Everyone knows the story, leave the best bits out - Toru's OCD room mate, the visit to Midori's dad, Midori and Toru watching the fire from the roof - and you are bound to leave people disappointed.
• It is just OK, and when your source material is fucking wonderful then that is a crime.

Movies Of The Year

Just five films stood out for me this year. They weren't all released during 2010 but that's when I saw them which is what counts in my book. Two I saw but do not make the list are Inception (the more I think about it the less impressive it becomes) and Toy Story 3 (it was OK but nothing special).

5. Tamara Drewe

Because I laughed like a drain.

4. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

I loved the books and thought the movie was a mighty fine adaptation.

3. Wendy And Lucy y

A girl loses her dog and goes off in search of it. That's pretty much the entire movie but Michelle Williams is wonderful throughout and is quickly becoming one of the finest actresses of her generation.

2. A Prophet

Gritty French prison drama. Another movie with a stunning central performance.

1. Sunshine Cleaning

Rare to find a mainstream motion picture written by a woman, directed by a woman and with two female lead characters. I thought this was subtle and tremendously charming. And then there is Amy Adams. Oh, Amy Adams!

 

Lost

A young woman of no fixed abode is driving to Alaska in search of work. When her car breaks down on Portland, Oregon, she is forced to hang around longer than she had hoped. And when her dog goes missing she goes on a search through the town to find her.

Wendy And Lucy is a subtle and fine piece of film making. There is very little dialogue, hardly any music or score. Just a cracking central performance from Michelle Williams.

I thought it was great.

I Am Stupidly Excited About This