Thumbsucker

This is a film I've been wanting to see for a while, primarily because it has a soundtrack by The Polyphonic Spree, one of my favorite bands. Now that I've seen the movie, it's clear that that's only one of the good things this film has going for it. It's directed by first time director Mike Mills, who I know from the Air song that's named after him. It's a great song, and his direction lives up to the song.

Narratively, the film is a fairly standard high school teen angst dramedy. The main character's extistential angst about finding his purpose isn't something new, this doesn't necessarily mean it's not good, it's just that the film succeeds because it goes a bit beyond this. The title literally refers to Justin's continuing addiction to sucking his thumb, a hindrance now that he is seventeen years old. However, thematically, the title refers more to clinging to childhood, to the safety of the familiar. The main characters are trapped in their behavior patterns and are unable to grow up.

Justin is someone who's searching for an answer to his problems, a cure all that will resolve his issues and set him on the right path. So, over the course of the film he continually looks for quick fix answers to the issues that are plauging for him. When things go south with Rebecca at the beginning of the film, he blames it on his thumbsucking, and as a result looks to Barry for some answers. The hypnosis succeeds in getting rid of this problem, but he soon finds himself even more troubled, and finds another solution in the ADHD medication.

The film takes an interesting position on prescription drugs. The initial events surrounding them would suggest that they are a cure all, Justin is motivated and takes control of his life, rising to the top of the debate team, however, in taking the drugs he loses sight of the essential self that he is trying to seek. The drugs transform him into someone else and as time passes, he begins to realize that that indentity is a charade that he cannot maintain forever. Because they are a drug, the same as any illegal one, they will eventually affect the way he thinks and acts, so that the qualities that at first seemed desirable, the increased competitiveness and leadership drive, soon begin to hurt him in his interactions with people.

When he stops taking the drugs, Justin seems to slide off the path, and by the end he recognizes that ultimately he just has to stand up for himself, he can't be scared like he was at the beginning of the film. The drugs were a necessary step along his journey, but they weren't the ultimate destination.

The entire film is about this personal evolution, abandoning childhood and maturing into more fulfilled people. Justin's arc isn't the only one where this happens. His mother clearly has the same feelings of inadaquecy and self doubt. At the beginning of the film she looks to this fantasy figure, Matt Schram, as an escape from the monotony of her everyday life. Dissatisfied with the state of her marriage and family she seeks this fantasy escape into the glamourous world of a star.

As the film progresses, she sees that his life isn't particularly glamourous, he's got problems as well, she doesn't need him, it's ultimately he who needs her. I thought one of the best scenes in the film was the conversation between Matt and Justin, where Justin gets to see a new side of his mother. He always saw her as an authority figure, but through the conversation with Matt he understands that she's human too, she's scared and flawed, and when he insults her aspirations it really hurts.

Throughout the film there's a weird semi-incestuous vibe in the relationship between these two. It's most apparent in the scene where she's trying on dresses and is looking to Justin to see if she's hot enough to impress Matt. This puts him in a very weird position. When he tries to stop her from going with Matt, there's this sense that he's almost jealous that she would desire anything beyond what they have. This vibe is increased during the scenes that intercut Justin's sexual exploration with Rebecca with scenes of him and Audrey together, as well as Audrey wondering whether Justin has ever had sex.

This all ties in with the title and the essential theme of the film which is about Justin and Audrey separating so that they can both grow. Keanu talks about how the thumb is the substitute for the mother's breast, so Justin at first rejects the way he'd been brought up, goes off on his journey through drugs and at the end of the film returns to the love that she gave him.

So, it becomes a metaphor about creating your own identity. Justin has to throw off the ties to his childhood, try things on his own, find himself and then he can return to the family unit. As for Audrey, she too has to give up Justin, but she recognizes that it's what she has to do so that he can grow.

Barry himself sums up the theme of the film in the speech he gives at the end. The basic idea is that everyone's looking for a cure for their problems, but this very notion is a fantasy because we'll always have problems, rather than trying to become a perfect person, you just have to be comfortable with who you are. So, whereas once Justin was ashamed of his thumbsucking and saw it as a major hindrance, when he's on the plane, he's not shamed by himself, instead he gets over it and speaks to the girl next to him. So, don't try to be something you aren't, your flaws are a part of you. That seems to be the film's basic message.

The film had a lot of other strong stuff I didn't mention. The score was fantastic, though more underplayed than you would expect from the Spree. But it definitely fit with the tone of the film and I loved the final moments with "Move Away and Shine." I think this was Keanu's best performance in a long time, largely because he was playing the Keanu that everyone imagines him really being like, and it was nice to see Vince Vaughn outside of the persona that he's been using in every role for a while now.

The film was well shot, and though I think the dream sequences with the purple/pink stage were a bit cheesy, all the the rest worked well. I loved the way the narrative had a lot of episodic elements without compromising the strong throughline. Scenes that could have felt like tangents, such as the hotel room bit, worked because they were essential to the characters and were funny in their own right. I guess a lot of that is that each of the characters felt fully developed even if they didn't get much screentime. So, Mike could have been a stock disinterested dad, but you got a whole sense of history and emotion from him without knowing all the specifics. Though in that case the similarities to Unbreakable may have helped a bit. One of the little things I really liked was how Audrey mentioned that she didn't fall in love with him until he stopped playing, and he says that he stopped playing to be with her, yet neither of them could quite make the connection and convey these deep feelings they had for each other. Perhaps they will in the time following the film.

So, it's a really successful film that's thoroughly enjoyable, and also brings to the fore a lot of interesting issues. Over the course of Justin's journey, he tries to medicate a problem when it ultimately turns out there was no problem, it's just the difficulties that everyone faces. I think the most important thing to understanding the film is the line Justin reads out of the rehab book which is don't judge your interior based on everyone else's exterior. Everyone thinks they have it worse than they do, and you just need some perspective to move beyond that.

Review Revue - January 2006 (II)

I signed up for Netflix, which means I'll have a steady supply of new films coming in while I'm at school. This will allow me to catch up on some of the obscure and foreign stuff I wasn't able to get earlier. So, this post will have the first batch of those films, as well as a bunch of films I watched when I was still on break.

Spun - This was the first film I got from Netflix and it was not a good start, film wise or disc wise. I saw the censored version of the film, so I feel a bit uneasy about criticizing the film, since the impact was dulled by beeps and blurs, but from what I saw, it was pretty clear that this wasn't a particularly good movie. Jonas Ackerlund has done some good music videos, but here he stretches out his dirty, quick cut style to an entire film and it just doesn't work. I love a lot of quick cut excess movies, like Domino, but what that movie had that this lacks is a sense of fun. The whole film seems so dire, with nasty people going around doing pointless things.

I'm not saying that your characters need to be likable, but other than The Cook, there's no one here who's even interesting. They're all caricatures taken to excess and as a result, the whole film feels like it exists in a cartoon world. Most of the quick cut stylistic stuff was done better in Requiem for a Dream, and a lot of the film seemed designed solely to shock. There was no core humanity to the film, and that made it an empty viewing experience. That said, I did enjoy the Billy Corgan score and Mickey Rourke was excellent.



High Art - This was a movie I went in knowing virtually nothing about. I read that it featured Patricia Clarkson as a former Fassbinder actress and that was enough to get me interested. It's a really well done, engaging film that creates a wonderful sense of atmosphere. The most interesting place in the film is Lucy's apartment, where everything seems to move though a drug induced slow motion stupor. The lighting and acting draws you into what they're feeling, and over the course of the film, the viewer, like Syd, gets drawn into the world, starting as an outsider, but gradually becoming a part of their circle.

Clarkson is quite different from the other stuff I've seen her in, and I enjoyed the references to Fassbinder's stuff. Not to be prejudiced, but there's definitely a different feeling you get watching a film directed by a woman, particularly in terms of the way it defines relationships. Syd's boyfriend was just that, the boyfriend, he had very little depth in and of himself, a twist from the typical Hollywood way of doing things where it's the female character who's defined solely by her relation to a man. In this film, that definitely fit with the story, and I don't think you needed any more depth in that guy because he's meant to stand in for the safe, typical relationship she would expect to find.

The ending is a bit jarring and falls in with the typical art film cliche of having the main character die. I suppose that creates a more ambiguous ending, and removes the need to provide a concrete resolution for Syd and Lucy's relationship, but still, it felt like a bit of a copout. However, on the whole, it's a really strong film that I enjoyed watching, and definitely brings to the fore the fact that there's too few female directors working in film.



Lilja 4Ever - This film is shot in the handheld, jump cut, verite style that I've seen in a lot of recent films based around poor people in underdeveloped countries, most notably City of God. It's a style I really like, and in this film, it works really well. The film opens strong, with a really strong music track and a powerful image. I'm not usually a fan of the start at the end and jump back film structure, but it works here because the opening moment is so strong.

The film is a chronicle of Lilja's tragic fall through the dark corridors of human existence. The film is successful because it shows us what could be a really maudlin tale of woe in such a way that it's entertaining even as it's disturbing and tragic. The soundtrack is a constant pulse of club beats, befitting the false glamour that Lilja takes on when she goes out as a prostitute. Lilja goes through a litany of indignities, but things don't get really bad until the scenes in Sweden. The sense of claustrophobia and draining of life as is she gets further and further trapped in the life of a prostitute is devestating. The most powerful sequence is the montage of clients seen from her perspective.

The ending is very strong, I like the intrusion of fantasy imagery into the otherwise realistic, verite world of the film, in the real world, Lilja and Volodya could never find happiness, but it seems that in death, they're finally able to transcend their limitations and realize their full potential.



Malena - This was a film I really disliked, and even though I saw Miramax's cut version for US release, I don't think that would have changed my opinion. In film theory, there's discussion about the concept of the male gaze, the idea that the way the film is shot places the viewer in the role of a male observer. The idea that this is true of every film is ridiculous, but in the case of this film, it's inescapable, and the film is rather disturbing as a result. The basic premise of the film is that Renato lusts after Malena, a woman in his village, all while Italy is involved in World War II. I'd imagine there's some kind of allegorical statement about the corruption of Italy during the war, but the primary thread of the film is this kid's voyeuristic obsession with this woman.

The film reminds me of Fellini's stuff, in the way it shows these neighborhood kids ogling a beautiful woman, but at least he had some other stuff going on in his movies, and pointed out some of the flaws in this situation. Here, Renato's spying is basically condoned, and his love for her is positioned as purer than that of any of the real men she's with. So, the film starts out by creating this idealized vision of Malena, a woman in need of male protection, and then over the course of the movie gradually destroys, first turning her into a prositute, then having all the women in the village beat her in the middle of the square. And our hero after idolizing her the entire film just stands there and watches. He's pretty much a bastard, and that makes it difficult to care about what happens to him. As for Malena herself, she's a construction more than a character, a shallow male fantasy.

Monica Bellucci is someone I deeply respect after seeing her in Irreversible, that was a film that used her immeasurable beauty to serve the story, and enhance emotion. Here, it seems like Tornatore wanted to film her, so he created a story around which to do so. And the way the film is shot, it's pretty clear that he's still the same pervy kid he was back in the war years.

Match Point - Woody Allen is a filmmaker who's been in decline for most of my life, so I don't have the same high opinion of him that the previous generation had. Yet, stuff like Annie Hall and Manhattan is still great, and I'd heard that Match Point was a 'return to form.' It's actually more of a departure, it has very few of the traditional Woody Allen trademarks, and outside of the alphabetical order credits and scratchy record soundtrack, it'd be tough to tell it was his. However, that doesn't make it a great film. This is a movie that's got some really strong twists and emotional hooks, but ultimately takes too long to tell his story, such that by the time we get to the good part, it's tough to remain fully engaged.

I'm noticing that I've been saying that a lot lately, that a film is too long, and I don't think it's a reflection on a diminished attention span, rather it's films that move slowly without providing really strong visual or emotional moments. Because the filmmaking here is so conventional, everything is dependent on the actors and the writing, which puts you at something of a handicap. Wong Kar-Wai could shoot a trip to the grocery store and make it riveting and emotional, something most directors cannot do.

So, beyond those flaws, this is a nasty movie. I was aware of some of the twists, but the places it went in the end were very surprising and put the audience in a weird position. The main character in the film is a difficult guy to really like, yet he's surrounded by characters that we do like. So, no matter what he does, he's going to end up hurting someone. Seeing his wife and her family's affection for him, I didn't want him to screw up their lives by going off with Nola, yet at the same time I felt Nola's pain as Chris' hypocriscy. What happens in the end makes things easy for him, but it's a bit more troubling as an audience member, because it points to the fragile balance on which we live our lives. Chris has gotten away with a huge crime, and outside of his conscience, there's nothing that can incriminate him. So, he'll live a life with Chloe, but in some respect it will always be a lie.

It's a film that's way beyond all of Allen's recent work, and it's heartening to see someone branch out of his comfort zone. It's also another top notch performance from Scarlett Johanson, who's piling up an impressive list of credits despite being only twenty-one.

Broken Flowers

Back in the early and mid 1990s, the name Bill Murray did not garner respect. He definitely was considered a funny guy, but a funny guy on the decline. However, starting with Rushmore, Murray completely revitalized his career, to the point that now the presence of Bill Murray in a film is a near guarantee of quality. This is largely due to the creation of a new 'Bill Murray' character.

Now, star image is a very important thing in film, going back to the 1910s, but it's sort of faded away, and more importantly, it's generally considered to be at odds with 'real acting.' If method acting is all about completely becoming another person, star image is more about just being yourself, or at least the public perception of yourself. So, regardless of whether or not he's acting, in his recent films, Murray has created a very strong star image. The basic idea is that he's a guy who is extremely passive, so laid back that he almost disappears and most of the humor in the films with neo-Bill Murray comes from watching other characters struggle to penetrate the silent, ambiguous mindscape of our hero. 'Bill Murray' the character is generally despressed, at a point in his life where he struggles to care about anything, though over the course of the film he finds that perhaps there is something worth living for.

So, if Lost in Translation was 'Bill Murray' in Japan, and The Life Aquatic was 'Bill Murray' on a boat, Broken Flowers is Bill Murray on a quest for his kid. While the films may have a similar main character, I don't really mind because Bill Murray's acting in all of them is phenomenal. He does so little, yet always completely holds your attention. At the beginning of this film, there's nothing to really make you like the guy, but Murray makes him a captivating figure anyway. In the simple action of watching the Don Juan film, you can see Don contemplating his entire life.

I really liked the slow build of the film's beginning. You see this guy who has created a very comfortable, easy existence for himself, and claims that this is what he wants. Yet, when face with Winston's passion and fire for life, he allows himself to break away from the easy comforts and take a risk, to search for a deeper emotional connection beyond just material comforts.

So, he's off on his quest. Normally these quest type structures cause a movie to drag a bit. It's usually a bad sign when you see a movie that's set up more like a videogame, where you've got a set number of objectives to achieve, because it means that the entire film will just be variations on the same thing. However, Jarmusch makes each stop along Don's journey unique and interesting, each interaction revealing to Don a facet of his personality that he'd forgotten.

I liked seeing Frances Conroy outside of Six Feet Under. That segment was notable for some really great awkward moment comedy. Throughout the film there were these incredible silences, where you were just wishing someone would say something. And then Don's hinting around the issue of his son was good for some more laughs.

I don't really have too much to comment on the journey. It was all solid, funny stuff, but I think the film's real strength is in its final scenes. Up until those scenes, there was a more conventional film than the typical Jarmusch movie. All his stuff has a high level of ambiguity and frequently ends on a note of mystery. Most of the film was fairly straightforward, and while I've heard some people say that nothing happened in the film and it was slow, I thought it was constantly engaging, much more so than Stranger than Paradise or Dead Man.

Anyway, as the film progresses, Don begins to think that his son must be trying to get in touch with him, and as a result, he begins to think that anyone who's around twenty must be his son. The scene where he speaks with the kid, and tries to reach out to him is phenomenal, full of ambiguity and emotion. At this point, Don has become attached to having a kid, and despite the fact that Sherry's letter almost definitively proves that he never had a son in the first place, he's still searching for him. So, when he sees this kid, he decides that he must be his son, his desire overwhelming his logic. It's almost painful to watch Don reach out and then get rejected. He'd constructed this fantasy and is quickly brought down to reality. And at the end, Don has deluded himself, trying to construct an emotional bond to fill in for the fact that his life is ultimately empty.

The ending moments of the film were fantastic, and I'm glad that we were left not knowing exactly what happened. The letter was just a mcguffin, it forced Don to assess his life, and after symbolically reliving his past, he fails trying to create his future.

Even though I really liked the film, it did have something that always annoys me in a movie and that's when a character watches an old movie or cartoon that comments on the action in some way. I think the whole Don Juan comparison was made a few too many times at the beginning, but besides that, I don't think that many people watch old movies or cartoons. This crops up in a lot of films though, probably because old stuff is public domain and therefore is a lot easier to use.

But that doesn't obscure the fact that this was a really strong, funny and emotional movie. I think it's Jarmusch's best.

Veronica Mars

Over the past few weeks I watched the first season of Veronica Mars. This is a show that's gotten a lot of acclaim, as well as a lot of comparisons to Buffy, even from Joss Whedon himself. In terms of the basic premise it's certainly got a lot of similarities, but going through the season, it became apparent why Buffy is a truly great series, while Veronica is only a good one.

If Buffy is taking typical high school angst and putting it through the lens of a horror film, Veronica does the same but uses the crime fiction genre instead of horror. Both shows feature a blond, perky yet cynical heroine, who used to be in the popular crowd, but was pushed away by her commitment to fighting evil, yet remains conflicted about her decision to exile herself from the easy, happy life of the typical popular high schooler. And ultimately both shows are about showing an empowered girl proving that she can be more than just a pretty face.

Both shows also started out with a case of the week format, where some new problem arises, usually from a person at the school, and then is resolved by the time the hour ends. The thing is, Buffy quickly abandoned this format, recognizing its limitations and by the second season, became a serial. Veronica has some serial elements, but remains fairly strictly tied to its case of the week format, the case is always resolved within the hour and though there are some characters who return and build, the majority of them don't factor in later.

This limits the show because it means that Veronica will always succeed. She always ends up solving the case, and her father is there to stop her from getting in any real danger. Giles filled that role to some extent in Buffy, but he wasn't as strong a fighter as her, so things ultimately fell to her, whereas Veronica has a safety net. When Chris Claremont took over X-Men, he depowered Professor X, because in the original series, any really dire problem could always be solved by Xavier coming in and using his mental powers to save the day. It's not quite the same with Keith Mars, but one of the problems with the series is you never get the sense that Veronica is in any real danger. One of the reasons the season finale was so effective was because both Veronica and Keith were no longer above everyone else, they were actually in danger.

Now, having Veronica in mortal danger from every case obviously wouldn't work, but I'd like to see some more negative consequences for Veronica herself. One of the interesting things about the series is the way that Veronica semes to leave many lives destroyed in her wake, but she'll still never compormise her morality. It's a very strict moral line, most evident in the episode with the popsicle video. She feels like taking revenge on this guy is something that has to be done, she can't consider that maybe ruining this guy's life won't actually help Sabrina, it will only lead to a cycle of escalating traumas for all involved.

So, even as I admire the show for making the protagonist make the tough decision, I wonder how they feel about what she's doing. At times, Veronica seemed almost like a mary sue in the way that the creators make him this super-detective, who can simultaneously work as a near full time detective and still be one of the top five students at her school. Obviously, being a detective show, part of the fun is seeing her solve the crime and take down the criminal, but here she was so good, so far ahead of the criminals, that it seemed a bit beyond belief. I would have liked to see an episode end without her solving the case.

I feel like the show is building up to a moment where Veronica breaks down and really questions whether or not it's worth it to be so cold and calculating in her relations with people. While she does let some people in, other than a select few, she seems to view everyone else as a pawn for her to maniuplate. Eventually, she'll use someone in the wrong way, and not be able to keep her cynical cool about everything, and it'll all come crashing down.

Now, it's sort of difficult to assess the show in comparison to something like Buffy, because if you were to take the first twenty-two episodes of Buffy, it'd be a good show, but not great. It wasn't until Surprise/Innocence that Buffy really took off, and Veronica may make a similar jump in its next season, and fix some of the problems that I mention.

However, I think the show is trying to do something different than most of the shows I really like. Buffy or Six Feet Under are shows that become almost exclusively about character, the plots exist to move the characters into different situations that will expose new parts of their psyche. Veronica is a much more plot driven show, there's some character development, but it's primarily about the progression of each episode's narrative, as well as the overall mystery arc.

The overall mystery arc was entertaining, but in some respects, the show has the same problem as Lost, in that so much of the show is about revealing what happened in the past, that things don't particularly move forward in the present. This is more noticable on Lost, where the flashbacks feel completely disconnected from the main narrative progress, on Veronica it's done better, but I can't help but wonder what the show would have been like if it started with Veronica's life in the popular crew, and then proceeded to show all the stuff that happened in flashback as the first season of the show.

The problem with that would be the show wouldn't really have a status quo. People who tuned in to watch a show about a bunch of wealthy popular kids probably wouldn't be as interested in a show about a girl who investigates murders, but that's one of the problems with episodic television. There's been more a move towards thinking of the entire series as one piece, rather than just a bunch of episodes, but there's still the need for some kind of status quo. So, even though watching everything from the flashbacks unfold over the course of a season would be riveting and surprising, it wouldn't provide viewers with any sort of stable order. Yet, watching it now, you get the sense that the really interesting stuff happened in the past, and though we see pieces of it, we don't have the sense of discovery that would have been possible.

Most of the episodes were really well done, and they came up with a nice variety of cases for her to cover. However, there weren't that many really standout episodes. However, by far the best two that they did were the last two. The episode in which she tries to piece together what happens the night that she was raped was really powerful, and in those flashbacks you saw Veronica's past like she did, wondering how she could behave like that. It works both as Veronica interrogating herself in terms of being drugged up, but also in terms of Veronica interrogating the old version of herself, the popular girl living a normal life. The alien behavior that she is unable to comprehend is a consequence of both.

At the end of that episode, I was like "damn" because they had revealed that Veronica was not only dating her brother, but in fact had had sex with him. Six Feet Under flirted with it, but never went there, but Veronica had done it and I was very impressed. It was a great twist and the scene where Duncan reveals what he had done was probably the best of the series.

So, I was a bit disappointed when we find out in the next episode that they aren't actually brother and sister. It feels like Jean's ressurection, you could say that the original power of the scene is intact, because they believe it at the time, but it's in fact very dulled. I can understand not wanting to go down the road, and I figured they wouldn't, but it was precisely that subversion of expectations that made it so powerful.

However, other than that, the end of the season was great. Aaron being the murderer was a great twist, and I really liked the way they revealed it. Throughout the whole season, he's been struggling to keep his family together, even as his actions sabotage this, and murdering Lily was the ultimate extension of this. He presumably justifies the murder to himself by saying that he had to do it or else his family would be ruined by the revelation he was sleeping with Lily, and this empowers him to do something criminal and vile. So, he brings about his own destruction, and having him be the murderer works better than having anyone else be it.

So, I think it's a successful series on the whole, with the potential to be great. I'll definitely be checking out season two down the line.

Brokeback Mountain

It's the film that's virtually a lock for best picture when the Academy Awards go down in a couple of months, and after seeing the film, it's pretty clear why. The best picture winner usually takes a classic Hollywood formula, but twists it in a modern way. In talking about the comics audience, the general wisdom is that the audience wants the same, but different, and it's the same here. Gladiator was a sword and sandal epic, a classic genre, but with modern style and effects. A Beautiful Mind was a throwback to classic biopics like The Life of Emlie Zola and Brokeback is a fairly classic Hollywood melodrama love story, with the twist that the love is between two men.

It's a really strong film, not my best of the year, but certainly a satisfying, emotional filmgoing experience. Heath Ledger becomes the character, and it's his struggle that dominates the film, choosing between his own desires and the life that society suggests for him. The initial mountain stuff is obviously necessary, but I think the far more interesting part of the film is the middle section, where both Ennis and Jack struggle to put their experience behind them and truly engage in their new lives. Watching Ennis with his wife and kids is difficult because you're always aware of the fact that he's not fully there. He's just playing a role, and that's ultimately the film's primary theme, how the masks we wear, the lies we take on obscure our true desires.

The film reminds me a lot of Wong Kar-Wai's stuff, particularly In the Mood For Love/2046, both men have the same problem that Chow did in 2046 when they try to move on from this mythologized love, but both are held hostage by it, unable to commit to anyone else. It's also similar to Before Sunset, in the way the characters have an almost antagonistic relationship, holding up that brief moment as the best time in their lives, and troubled by the fact that they can never recapture it.

However, what makes this different is the sexual orientation issues. When Ennis is unable to make a life with his wife, is it just because she's a woman or is it because she's not Jack? In Jack's case, it seems clear that he's using Lureen as a shield for the outside world, and part of why he's so annoyed with Ennis is the fact that he's much more open with his sexuality. Lureen seems to pretty much go along with whatever Jack's doing, she's much more independent than Alma. Ennis is someone who seems unable to initiate a relationship, always finding an excuse to not pursue something further. The only reason he is with Jack in the first place is that Jack opened up to him, similarly Cassie practically had to drag him onto the dance floor to start their relationship, and after a while, he let her just drift away.

Ultimately, Ennis is held back by his fear. He struggles to admit to himself that he loves Jack, the only moment we see him being emotionally open is when Jack first turns up at his house after the four year absence, there the emotions overwhelm him. But other than that, he always remains guarded, right until the end when he refuses the chance to make a real life with Jack. At the end of the film, the news that Jack was thinking about fixing up the farm with another guy hurts Ennis because it means that Jack was able to do what he never was, and move on.

However, by doing so, Jack also brought about his own death. The tragedy of the film is that these two people are trapped in a society that won't allow them to do what they want, but they're tormented by the memory of a place where they were free enough to do anything. In some ways, the end of the film basically excuses Ennis for his refusal to emotionally commit. His fear of being a target of violence turns out to be valid. So, there basically was no solution to Ennis' problems, he did the safe thing, and he still ended up broken.

Another thing I really liked in the film was the score, which used a lot of variations on the same basic theme, the closing swell of that theme was very powerful. However, on the whole, this was a film where the filmmaking was basically invisible. It was all about just telling the story. There's nothing wrong with that, but I don't think the film reaches the emotional or visual heights of 2046. This isn't a movie designed to work in that style, but I feel like 2046 does a better job of wrapping the viewer in a world of regret. I guess the difference is Brokeback Mountain is like witnessing real events, while 2046, with its jumbled chronology is like experiencing a memory, the perception of events rather than the reality.

But, it's still a great movie, and one I'd be perfectly happy to see pick up the Academy Award.

X-Men 244-254

After the flawed, but undeniably epic Inferno, X-Men crashes to Earth with the weakest period since the first Cockrum run. Up through Inferno, there was always a strong sense of purpose and moving forward, the plot and character arcs were constantly progressing and there was a sense of some ultimate destination. Looking back, it seems like, in a lot of ways, Fall of the Mutants was the climax of Claremont's run, with that storyline he said basically everything that needed to be said, and wrapped up the primary thematic question of the book, as the X-Men finally proved themselves to be heroes in the public eye.

If Fall of the Mutants was the thematic resolution, Inferno provides the resolution for a lot of the lingering plot points left over, and when Inferno is finished, there doesn't seem to be that much left to do. If X-Men was a TV show, I'd imagine Fall of the Mutants as a perfect series finale, and then Inferno is the movie. But, it's not like that, the series goes on, and things are suffering a bit here, primarily becuase the book no longer has a strong sense of direction. This is the result of a number of factors.

The first major one is that the original Claremont characters, the most well developed in the X-verse have been spread thinly around the universe, meaning that there's barely anyone left in the book actually called X-Men. This is another case of the business needs messing with the creative, Kitty and Kurt were shipped off to make Excalibur a viable book, but that hurts the flagship title. In the 230s, Claremont put together a pretty solid new team, but with this series of issues, he goes around systematically dismantling it. Wolverine is always missing, in 247, Rogue is sieged perilously, then Storm is 'killed,' Longshot leaves, and eventually the remaining four X-Men go through the Siege Perilous and vanish from the book. By Inferno, Claremont was starting to make the new team pretty interesting, but they're ripped apart before they can really gel, and by 254, we're left with a bunch of random people, the core cast is completely gone.

I feel like Marvel was taking advantage of the fact that people are going to buy the book called X-Men, even though X-Factor or Excalibur had more of the characters who were with the X-Men in their glory days. But, I can't just blame this on corporate, Rogue didn't go anywhere, and Claremont still wrote her out. I guess what they were doing here was setting things up for the introduction of a new team, but it wasn't a wise decision to get rid of the book's entire cast, except for Wolverine.

Tracking back a bit, on an issue to issue basis, this run is pretty weak. After Inferno, Claremont does two comedy stories about the X-Men taking a night out. They're decent, but it feels a bit contrived. It's partially because even when the X-Men are trying to take off, they still wind up fighting various evil factions, so the whole point of the issue is undermined. It would have been better to give them some real time off, and let us get to know the characters better. The thing I did really like from 245 was the 'Jean Bomb,' a parody of all the Jean-related issues from Inferno.

246-247 has an arc where Nimrod comes back and gets turned into Master Mold. This arc brings things back to the human/mutant anxiety, which is good, but the death of Senator Kelly's wife feels like a plot device more than a real emotional moment, because it comes about so quickly. Plus, Claremont once again places a female character in the kinky maid outfit of the Hellfire Club. He's definitely got a specific taste when it comes to women's attire. This little storyline was pretty strong on the whole though, the best of this run of issues.

248 is one of the worst issues in a long time. The Nanny robot from way back in 118 or so returns and takes control of the X-Men, terrorizing them in their base. 249-250 is another bomb, no surprise considering it takes place in the Savage Land. I don't think it's possible to write a good story set in the Savage Land, and this one is no exception to that rule. The whole plotline doesn't make much sense, and it just seems to be a series of weak action sequences. This storyline also introduces the bizarre gimmick where Lorna Dane somehow becomes a giant, not good.

251 at least brings some focus back, as Wolverine returns and is attacked by the reavers. The issue also sees the other X-Men go through the Siege Perilous, an odd choice because it means that we're down to one X-Man left in the book. I guess the point of this run of issues is to completely dismantle the current team of X-Men to pave the way for rebuilding later. It's an admirable idea, but in 251 and 252, it means too much action that doesn't really go anywhere. The reavers aren't particularly interesting, and have all the hallmarks of bad 80s design work. They don't really have any character development, so it's not interesting to watch the X-Men fight them. Also, because of their cyborg nature, they can take huge amounts of damage and still come back, a problem with a lot of recent Claremont villains. When he decided that the marauders could be ressurected, Claremont completely undermines the moral and dramatic tension of fighting them.

So, with all the characters gone, and after a weak string of issues, the book wasn't looking that good. The whole experiment in making the X-Men dead led to nothing but having them teleport all over the world battling people, with no agenda or development, and none of the long running character arcs that were once Claremont's trademark. I think having the X-Men dead could have worked well, but there was never any exploration of what it did either to the people they knew or society as a whole. And having Gateway meant that there were no consequences of being isolated in Australia. Claremont gave them too much power, and because they didn't have to struggle, it meant that there wasn't as much dramatic involvement as in the Byrne or Romita era. The era from about 200 to Fall of the Mutants was fantastic because there was a sense of complete chaos and constant danger. The X-Men had no control over their situation, they were just trying to survive, now they're in no danger, they've become too good at what they do.

That may be why Claremont saw the need to reset things and send the X-Men away, leaving the title pretty much vacant. This allows us the chance to meet up with some characters who hadn't appeared in a long time, most notably Moira. She hadn't been in the book since the end of the Massacre and it was good to check back in. Once again, there's some bizarre Claremont wardrobing, like her leather miniskirt and halter top outfit she wears when doing tests on Lorna, but on the whole, her and Banshee feel much more human and developed than the X-Men had in recent issues. It's good to see Banshee back, he had been out of action for roughly 130 issues, so he's no the finely tuned pro that the X-Men were.

I guess that's the big problem with the Australia era, the X-Men had become a perfectly efficient, almost military unit. They'd lost the messy humanity of the early Claremont years. While Jubilee was clearly brought in to create a dynamic similar to early Kitty, it's notable that when Kitty came, the X-Men welcomed her as a family member, while Jubilee sneaks around their complex, scared of the X-Men. They're no longer a welcoming group, they've become hardened by the years of battle. I'd suspect this was influenced by the popularity of Wolverine, they made all the characters, most notably Havok, like him. However, that ignores the fact that the joy of Wolverine is watching him deal with more emotionally open people, to recognize his savage side with his human side, so if everyone's like him, there's nothing interesting about him.

The other really cool element of 253-254 is the return of Forge. He was there for one of Claremont's finest hours, Lifedeath, and he's still one of the best characters that Claremont developed. I love how Mystique is now essentially good, rebelling against the government's orders that she collaborate with Forge, the man who killed the X-Men. Her relationship with Destiny is also really interesting, I wish Claremont got to play out the idea that the two of them are Nightcrawler's parents, with Destiny as his mother and Mystique as his father. Watching Mystique's anger at Forge here is one of the first times we see the emotional impact of the X-Men's death on those who loved them, both for Mystique and Forge.

So, at the end here, things are looking up. In the 230s and 240s, things got so bogged down with big action storylines that Claremont lost sight of a lot of the book's supporting cast, and it's good to see them return. The book has a momentum it hasn't had since the buildup to Fall of the Mutants.

I'd be curious to understand what led up to all the X-Men getting sent through the Siege Perilous. It's pretty risky to write out every single character, it raises the question of whether X-Men is still X-Men without any of the main characters. Stepping away from the business end of things, I think it was a mistake to completely separate the core of Kitty, Storm, Wolverine, Kurt and Colossus. Even post Mutant Massacre when most of the team was split up, the presence of Wolverine and Storm made it feel like X-Men, you just need two of those five together to keep that feeling of team. However, by splitting them all up, the book lost any sense of emotional core, while Claremont did make some good characters since, no one's matched those five. That's why the Mutant Massacre was so momentous, more than the death of the Morlocks, it was the death of the X-Men as they were. The core family unit was broken in that conflict, and ever since then, things haven't been the same. As much as I admire Claremont for continuing to push things forward, in this case, that new direction has lost sight of the book's emotional core.

All that Jazz

All that Jazz is an extremely ambitious film that does some incredible things with the medium of film. Bob Fosse was best known for his choreography work, but watching this film, it's clear that the man was doing much more than just trying to capture his dance on film, this is a movie that takes full advantage of what you can do with the cinema to tell a story.

In the 70s, right around the time this film came out, Scorsese and Coppola both had monumental failures when they tried to create dark, more reality based musicals. While New York, New York and One From the Heart both have their merits, both films falter on account of the fact that they're trying to recreate 30s musicals with a dark spin, rather than just using the musical form to service a darker story. That's what Fosse does here, it's a very dark film, and the musical numbers are designed to fit within the universe of the film, rather than to rebel against it.

This is one of those films that works wonderfully on screen, but clearly had a lot of trauma behind it. Gideon is a thinly veiled version of Fosse, and creating a film this personal must have been difficult. Where does Gideon end and Fosse begin? I don't know enough about the man himself to really assess that, but it's not essential to enjoying the film. The film's been called self indulgent, and in some respects, it is a bit narcisistic to think that the world needs a film about your life, but in this case, it really does work. Fosse is not easy on himself, the character is presented unsympathetically, and in the end, his personal flaws ultimately overwhelm his artistic genius. Ironically, by making such a great film, Fosse avoided this fate, though he would die of a heart attack a few years after the release of the film.

What makes the film so effective? There's a number of things, one is the basic character arc. This is a really engaging portrait of an artist, showing both the joy and difficulty of creating art. Gideon is at a point in his life where he's been successful, and in many ways that's the worst thing that could happen to him. It builds up a level of expectation for everything he does. This is most apparent in the scene with the television review of 'Stand Up.' After the massive success of 'Cabaret,' there was nowhere left to go, and critics are almost inevitably going to turn against his next film in reaction.

Similarly, on stage, he's struggling to come up with something original, dealing with the pressure of his deadlines. Gideon is so in demand that he has no time for his daughter, no time to forge meaningful connections in his personal life, so he is unable to really embrace his relationship with Kate. He's clearly stretched himself too thin, which is what ultimately leads to his heart attack, and eventually his death.

The story itself is interesting, but it's in the execution that the film stands out. One of the coolest elements is the fantasy sequences, featuring Joe reflecting on his life in the company of 'Angelique,' who we eventually learn is the angel of death. Using these fantasy sequences gives us deep insight into Gideon's psyche that isn't necessarily evident from the real world stuff. The fantasy stuff comes to the fore at the end of the film, and those sequences are absolutely stunning. Besides, being narratively important, the fantasy scenes are aesthetically remarkable. The hyped up neon stages are a great representation of the excess in Joe's life.

Throughout the film, there's a lot of really interesting choices. I liked the repetition of the taking pills and shower wake up montage, and it's possible that this film may have been an inspiration on the similar sequences in Pi. After a quick check of the net, I see that Aronofsky 'presented' a screening of the film in New York a few years ago, and you can definitely see a connection between the two films. The eye closeups prefigure stuff in Requiem for a Dream, and the Tappy Tibbons fantasy sequence at the end of the film could take place in the same neon world as Joe's hallucinations here.

The choice to mute all the sound except for Joe's breathing during the script readthrough sequence was another inspired moment. Another really cool thing was the repetition of the standup comedy routine throughout the film, which worked really well as a comment on the action.

The musical is a form that I think has a ton of untapped potential. I loved Buffy's 'Once More With Feeling,' and in some respects, Magnolia is an Aimee Mann musical. I'd consider the integration of visual and music the 'purest' cinema, so that would make the musical the purest, most cinematic genre. And yet, there's very few films that really use the musical well. This has instantly become my favorite musical film, because it's one of the few completely successful serious musicals.

Like the other aforementioned 70s musicals, this is an update of a classic genre trope, the backstage musical. This film does to the backstage musical what Watchmen did to the superhero comic, completely deconstruct its tropes and bring out the darkness of the themes inherent in the previous films. A movie like 42nd Street says that all it takes to put on a great show is hard work, what this film does is take that message, but show the reality of what doing that work can do to a person.

And yet, much like in Watchmen, you still get the traditional pleasures associated with the genre. The musical numbers here may be offbeat, but they're even more visually interesting than the work in the more traditional Cabaret. The opening 'cattle call' sequence features a stunning pullback as you gradually realize just how many people there are on that stage. This sequence also features some pretty ugly 70s clothes, but it doesn't really distract from the film. Enough years have passed that it no longer looks dated, it's more that the film is a period piece set in the 70s.

In this film, there's a high level of competition for wackiest musical number. One of the early contenders is 'Air-otica.' It's an interestingly staged number, and I'm not really sure what to make of it. The point of it was to show how Gideon's ideas are constrained by the need to make his work palatable to the mass audience. There's a sexuality inherent in his stuff, however, he normally has to keep it within acceptable confines, this number pushes it to the forefront. It also reflects back on his upbringing within the burlesque clubs, clearly those times are still a major influence on him.

The sequence where Kate and Michelle dance for Joe was one of the sweetest moments in the film. The scene where Joe and his daughter dance in the studio felt a bit contrived, like the relationship was there for story purposes, it wasn't real. However, the dance in his house made the relationships feel real, and that's crucial to making the end of the film work.

Some of the stuff during the first chunk of hospital hallucinations felt a bit off, like it was too self consciously weird, or perhaps there were just too many songs spun together. The sequence with all the girls with feathers in particular didn't seem to do much. However, the basic concept of Joe directing a film of all this in his mind was cool enough to make it work. And I really liked some of the makeup and costuming here, particularly Michelle's Ragged Robin style facepaint.

The highpoint of the film was by far the finale, the 'Bye Bye Life' sequence. This is where the film ascends into a 70s lounge version of heaven, and concludes with both a great song and an emotionally riveting narrative conclusion. I love the design here, Joe's shiny coat and all the lights on the stage, though the Kiss outfits on the band didn't quite work. The excess of the whole thing reminded me of the end of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall,' another work that's intensely personal and goes to really strange places, yet somehow pulls it all off and really works. The sequence where Joe says goodbye to everyone he's known is very powerful and I love the way he glides down the hall towards Angelique. This was clearly an influence on the episode of Nip/Tuck where Julia experiences an alternate life while undergoing surgery.

The final moment of the film is incredibly stark after the raucousness of 'Bye Bye Life,' and the abrupt cutoff is jarring. The film's final image is disturbing, but considering what's come before, it was pretty clear that the film couldn't end any other way than with Joe Gideon dead. On the whole, the final sequence is absolutely stunning, I love the way the film moves on to an entirely symbolic plane, using the dream imagery to find an emotional closure that would never be possible in the real world. The dreamstuff makes it possible for Joe's death to be simultaneously sad and jubilant, it's a farewell performance rather than a simple pedestrian death.

Watching this movie made me want to get back into the editing room and take my film to another level. It's a movie that could have been a fairly standard biopic, however through the unique filmmaking, it becomes a full portrait of one man's troubled psyche, that neither romanticizes nor demonizes him, and instead allows the character to rise and fall on his own flaws and merits. It's a riveting, inventive film that shows that sometimes self indulgence works.

Review Revue - January 2006

Last Tango in Paris - I was a big fan of Bertolucci's The Dreamers, so I figured I'd check out his original sex in an apartment film, Last Tango. I guess reading about the controversy surrounding the film's release made me expect something a bit more explicit. It's certainly got a lot of content, but this is one of those movies that pushed the boundaries, and as a result, its successors have gone further than it did.

So, where does that leave the film itself? It's got one of the best titles of any film, evocative and a perfect description of what happens in the film. The relationship is Paul's last chance to really feel alive. He's surrounded by the numbness created by his wife's death and it's only in that apartment that he can feel alive. When Jeanne rejects him, he's got nothing left and it's logical that he dies then. The basic emotional core of the film was strong, and the sexual content wasn't there solely to shock, it's integral to the character development. Brando is excellent in the film, a thoroughly engaging performance.

However, the whole subplot with Jean-Pierre Leaud making a film felt a bit disconnected from everything else, and also the ending felt a bit off. It was enough to let Brando die emotionally, there was no need to actually kill him. That's the cliched 70s film ending, every New Hollywood film seems to end with the main character getting shot down.

And one other superficial gripe was why did Jeanne ditch the awesome pimp-like style she was rocking at the beginning of the film for the bad 70s perm?



Downfall - This film got a lot of good notices, it's currently ranked #46 on IMDB's top 250 films of all time. It's the type of film that's easy to respect, but is ultimately hollow. The subject matter has a lot of gravity, Hitler certainly isn't a subject to be treated lightly, no matter how many incarnations of The Producers have been successful. This sort of historical setting automatically bumps a film's star rating up by one. If this same film was set in the future and done as a sci-fi movie, it wouldn't be anywhere nearly as respected.

Now, you may say that that makes sense, it's the film's relationship with historical reality that gives it meaning. And that's ultimately the problem. As a film, this isn't particularly successful. There's way too many characters, and without a huge knowledge of Nazi history, I knew them as something like "that guy with the mustache," rather than as actual people. I struggled just to keep track of everyone, so that meant that I couldn't really relate to them. So, while some scenes were very effective, such as the mother poisoning all her children, it ultimately doesn't hang together. I think it would have been more effective to narrow the film down and focus on the experience the seceretary had in those final days, rather than trying to cover all those people. We knew her story, so the parts with her were more emotionally affecting.

That said, I do admire the way the film refused to either demonize or sentimentalize Hitler. There were moments where you saw him as hateful and demonic, but then ohter times he would seem like an ordinary person. Bruno Ganz did a great job in the title role, virtually unrecognizable compared to his great work in Wings of Desire.



Me and You and Everyone We Know - This was the indie darling of 2005 and it definitely fits into the mold of last year's indie successes, Garden State and Napoleon Dynamite. I loved Garden State, but hated Napoleon Dynamite, so it's logical that my reaction for this film falls somewhere in between, since it has similarities with each. One of my favorite things about Garden State was how stylish its cinematography was, this film goes for a less self conscious style, though its still well shot. All the little stories within it were nicely woven and I feel like all the characters had a nice little arc.

My favorite story was the difficult courtship of Richard and Christine. You really did want them to get together, and it's admirable that July was able to replicate the emotional experience of a Hollywood romantic comedy without taking the formulaic style of those films. The funniest moment of the film was when Robby finally meets up with his online friend, an absolutely hilarious, bizarre moment.



Badlands - Another Malick film. I've now seen his entire filmography and his first film finds his style in an embryonic state. The voiceovers and nature are here, but this film is set in a fairly recognizable everyday reality, something that none of his other films share. The first half hour of so of the film sees the characters move from a traditional world to a more typical Malick world, when they create their life in the woods. This is treated as an edenic period, apart from the world Kit and Holly live an uncomplicated, pure existence. However, that existence is destroyed when society crashes in, sending them off on the run, and ultimately both Holly and Kit give up their run, knowing that they can never return to the perfect life they so briefly had.

The film looks good, but Malick isn't yet the incredible visual stylist he would later become. The voiceovers are more closely tied to the narrative, less devoted to philosophical musings, it's an altogether more conventional film than The New World. I'd imagine at the time it got a lot of comparisons to Bonnie and Clyde, I think B+C was a better film, but this one has a lot of merits. Martin Sheen is great, and the whole film has an almost dreamlike progression from event to event. Holly seems to live all the events as if in a dream, with no concern for consequences, and because she's the audience surrogate, we feel that way too. It's this dreamlike atmosphere that Malick would build on in his later work. I don't think this is a truly great work, like his later three films are, but it was an important step in the development of a great talent.



Gozu - Speaking of dreamlike films, this Takashi Miike film is a disturbing, confounding journey through a world that resembles our own, but is not it. Miike is notable for being the most prolific director since Fassbinder, he churns out movies like they're going out of style, he's released fifty films in the past ten years, no one else in the world is even close to this level of production. I've only seen three of his films, but they're all unique and challenging, even as they fall short of being truly great. Should he take more time on each? Perhaps, but this is still one of the better films I've seen recently.

The film's basic premise is Minami needs to find the body of his Yakuza partner, and doing so brings him into contact with some really weird characters. The film is certainly bizarre, going to some places you might not want to go. The breastmilk pumping is a bit disturbing, as well as the brilliant image of the lactating light on the ceiling. Then there's the giant cowheaded demon who licks Minami. This is pretty weird stuff, but the finale of the film tops it all, with a really disturbing birth sequence.

This was a film I liked, but didn't love, and the reason for that is because the film sets you adrift in this bizarre world with no frame of reference. The movie got a lot of comparisons to Lynch's stuff, but the thing about Lynch is he doesn't just throw in weird stuff for no apparent reason, there's a reason to everything he does, even if he's the only one who knows it. Watching Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive, the surreal images all have a purpose and meaning within the narrative, and profound emotional significance for the audience and the characters. However, here, it's more like a tour of a bizarre world. It feels a bit like an 80s fantasy movie in that respect, Minami is looking for the body, and along the way he has some wacky adventures.

That said, the ending where Ozaki does come back, albeit changed, was very strong. That was where the film came together, and the aforementioned birth sequence is an inspired conclusion, leaving you unsure about the nature of the characters' relationships and all that's come before.

While I think the film isn't neccesarily designed to fit into any kind of linear interpretation, this is what I'd say it's about. Minami has an attraction towards his partner, Ozaki, but is unable to deal with this attraction. After he loses him, he's confronted with various images of female sexuality, most notably in the landlady's lactation, and he's not sure how to deal with this. When Ozaki comes back, seemingly in a female body, Minami isn't sure whether this is actually what he always wanted, the chance to have a relationship with Ozaki, while still staying straight. However, he finds the whole thing a bit weird. At the end, he has sex with female Ozaki and winds up splitting Ozaki into two personas, his friend who existed before and the female version, who he can continue to have a sexual relationship with. So, in his mind he splits the attraction and finds peace with this new incarnation of Ozaki.

I'd have to see it again to go more in depth, but that's the basic idea I got. As for what is objectively 'real' in the film, that's very tough to say. I'm not sure even Miike would know that.

In the Mix - January 2005

These are the albums I've been playing most in recent weeks.

Kanye West - Late Registration - I'm not a huge rap fan, but this is one of the best rap albums I've ever heard. Jon Brion's production is phenomenal, and the rhymes are great. "Touch the Sky" and "Roses" are the highlights, but all the tracks are pretty solid.

Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes - Tori does really strong rocking songs, as well as more introspective stuff. I like the props to Sandman in 'Tear in Your Hand' as well as the early 90s rockiness of 'Crucify.' The title track is another highlight.

The Zombies - Odyssey and Oracle - A 60s classic, most notable for the song "Time of the Season," but all the tracks on here are great. It's pop that sounds sunny and dark at the same time, most notably on the excellent "Rose for Emily."

The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema - The New Pornos are unstoppable when it comes to making really catchy power pop. This is my second favorite album of theirs right now, but it's growing on me. I'm looking forward to seeing them and Belle and Sebastian in March.

Junior Senior - Hey Hey My My Yo Yo - 'Taking My Time' is a wonderfully catchy track, and a number of tracks travel in the same territory as classic Michael Jackson. It's really fun, infectious dance pop.

Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run - It lives up to the hype. The title track is exhilirating, but the epic album closer 'Jungleland' is the real highlight, andthe album is notable for the great saxophone solos throughout, sax solos that don't sound like bad 80s sax or porn, not an easy feat.

Patti Smith - Horses - Like Born to Run, this is a 30 year old album that feels more fresh and relevant than nearly any of the rock put out today. 'Gloria' is a fantastic opener and she continues to rip through great songs building up to the ten minute 'Land' number, one of rock's great epics.

Respect Films

I've been spending this entire vacation working on my new film, The Perfect Dose. 2005 was a major turnaround for me in terms of actually making films. Up through 2004, I'd always been interested in film, and had made some things, but I'd never made a film I would consider mine. I always worked with a whole bunch of people, and that meant that I didn't get to put as much into the movies as I might like. And after doing Tabula Rasa in January 2004, we didn't do another project for an entire year.

However, at the start of 2005, Jordan and I shot Ricky Frost, a film that was a big jump for us. For one, it was the first time I was able to operate the camera for pretty much a whole movie. This was right around the time I saw Fallen Angels for the first time, and in the film, I basically tried to capture the energy that WKW and Christopher Doyle had in that film. After a hiatus, I edited the movie in the summer, and it came together pretty well, you could definitely see the start of the current style I've been using, all handheld camera, lot of deep focus and multi-plane photography. I was really happy with the way that movie came out, and at 35 minutes, it was by far the longest thing I'd done so far.

During the summer, Jordan and I ran a filmmaking workshop for LMC-TV, and we made a really strong film called Extracurricular Activities, which was a really enjoyable action film made with a bunch of kids. That was a half hour, so in August, I edited 65 minutes of footage. It was a bizarre month.

Then at school, I took film production and dropped four short films, two of which I'm really proud of. These films pushed the handheld style even further, I love the way that my final project, Key 23, looked. That was part of my "Black, White and Gray" trilogy. Only one of these is online, Do Unto Others, but the others should be online pretty soon. So, I did about fifteen minutes of total footage, bringing the grand total for 2005 to 80 minutes of finished film.

I'm really proud of the stuff I did last year. There was a lot of variety in subject matter and narrative style, and it's cool to now be able to program an entire night of entertainment for people.

So, this year is starting off with a lot more film. A Perfect Dose is a big jump because it features semi-professional actors, people hoping to make it big. This is good for a number of reasons, one because it increases the quality of acting in the film, but also because it means that they actually want to be in the movie, there's no need to bother them to get them to show up. And, they actually know their lines, so we were able to run the lines and do five minute long takes of certain scenes. We broke it up in the editing, but still, it was cool to be able to do that.

The editing has been taking a long time. I figured we shoot in two days, then edit for a couple more and be done, but every weekday, I'm doing eight hours or so in the LMC editing room, going through the footage. I've gotten into doing color correction on each shot, which means that it takes a lot of refinement before we finish. I'm happy to do it, but it's taken more time than I thought. However, it also makes me really happy to do, the time goes so fast when I edit, I think it'd be a great job. The time would just fly by.

That film will be done next week. This semester, I probably won't do as many films, however, hopefully I'll do something. And then this summer, I'll probably do a couple of projects. And in the fall, I'll be doing my senior thesis. The other thing I'd really like to do is make a music video. So, there'll be plenty of film made this year.

Anyway, to recognize the increased level of production, Jordan and I gave ourselves a name, Respect Films, and made a website: www.respectfilms.com So, that's where you can get new stuff from me, and we'll be updating it with more of our past films. Check it out, and report back with any comments you've got on the movies.

The New World

Terence Malick seems to exist in sort of a timewarp. Because he didn't do any films between 1978 and 1998, he seems to have missed the fall that most of the 70s new Hollywood filmmakers took during the 80s. So, he never had a One From the Heart, New York, New York, Heaven's Gate, The Sorcerer, etc. What that means is that unlike the good, but rather passionless films you'll see today from Scorsese today, Malick is still making bold, incredible films. The New World is a stunning piece of cinema that more than any other film gives me a real sense of knowing what it would be like for the both the European explorers arriving in America and the natives who were already there. Much like Fellini used a sci-fi template for studying the past in Satyricon, The New World feels almost like an alien invasion story, a clash of two completely different cultures, struggling to find a way to work together.

The first really notable thing about this movie is how gorgeous it is. Watching a film like King Kong, all the visuals that should be stunning feel compromised by shoddy greenscreen work and the knowledge that it isn't real. That may be a bit ridiculous, it's all just light projected on a screen, but at the same time, there's something that feels so real about this movie. It's difficult to imagine that there's fifty people standing behind the camera, that our world exists behind the camera seems impossible because the film so thoroughly inhabits this past world. It's like Malick not only went on location to a different space, it's like he went on location in a different time. No greenscreen here, no CGI, or if there is, it's not noticable, and that's part of what makes the film so successful. You're completely immersed in this world.

The film has very little dialogue, it's almost all visuals, music and voiceover. The score is by James Horner, who's previous work isn't particuarly notable, but here, he takes it to another level. The score reminds me a bit of Koyaanisqatsi, in the way that it feels like a substantial piece of music on its own, not just something to disappear into the film.

The voiceover isn't about conveying narrative information, it's designed to waft over you, creating a mood, and in that respect it's very successful. It reminds me of Wong Kar-Wai's stuff in the way that the voiceovers on their own aren't particularly significant, but combined with the visuals and music, they're very powerful, creating a world to drift through. It also allows the film to keep the characters true. While he's in the Natives' camp, Smith wouldn't really be able to talk to someone about his feelings for Pocohontas, so the voiceover tells us instead.

My favorite part of the film was when Smith and Pocohontas were together in the camp. All of Malick's stuff is about the corruption of edenic existences, and in this case, the Eden is amazing. The connection between them is purely emotional and through the fantastic cinematography and editing, the viewer is completely drawn into the their world. In these fleeting moments, we get a sense of a perfect world, a fusion of two cultures, even as we're aware of the impending destruction of the peace between races. For the rest of the film, you want them to return to this edenic existence, this perfect love. I like the fact that rather going with a blanket condemnation of European colonization, Malick instead makes his points through this relationship, thus we feel the point rather than merely hear it.

One of the major things that makes those scenes so effective is Q'Orianka Kilcher's performance. This is her first major role, but she completely owns the screen, in a way I haven't seen since Faye Wong's work in 2046. Right from the opening frames, you can sense an energy about her, the joy she takes in her freedom. Watching her running through the fields or staring out into a rainstorm, she conveys the experience that she is feeling directly to the viewer, so it's like you're there with her, caught up in her world. As the film proceeds, we watch her changing, losing the fire and becoming more practical, ultimately bidding farewell to the old ways when she lets Smith go and instead chooses the practicality of Rolfe.

You could read the entire film as an allegory of what happened to the Americas, the gradual change over of cultures eventually leading to a rejection of the devotion to nature that used to define the continent, instead it is remade in the image of the old world. It also works on the personal level, it's difficult watching Pocohontas have to compromise the identity she had, but she is one of only two characters in the film who can cross the boundary between worlds. At the beginning of the film, Smith crosses from the European world to the natural world, but he ultimately has to return. Pocohontas crosses from the native world to the European and recognizes that assimilating into their world is the only way for her to survive. That's ultimately why she chooses Rolfe over Smith, he's the safe choice, the one who's always been loyal to her and can protect her.

I thought the final moments where she's running through the hedge garden with her son were incredibly powerful, watching someone who'd once run through the real wilderness now trapped in this artificial, modulated version of nature. However, in the end she finds that the spirit, life, is still present in her son, who has the same enthusiasm for existence that she once had. In him, she sees the purity she was searching for earlier in the film.

This is a long film, but because it isn't so much a narrative movie as an atmosphere, a world you travel to, so just existing there is interesting. I've heard that Malick was contemplating cutting 10-20 minutes, but I would strongly advise against that. I checked my watch at one point in the film and was shocked to find that I was 2:15 into the film, I thought it was no more than 1:30. I could see why someone would find it slow paced, but I think it's elegaic and glorious. It reminds me a lot of Wong Kar-Wai in that way, every frame is such a gorgeous combination of content, visual and music that it's always enjoyable.

So, definitely check this film out. It's very rich thematically, but more importantly it's an enveloping film experience, one I'm looking forward to having again.

2005 Screening Log: Part II

This is a list of all the films I've seen in the second half of the year, 138 in total, all ranked on a five star scale. Now, one note on this. The scale is comparative among the films here, not film in general. I do like most of the films here, even most of the ones had something decent. So, a two is a good movie, three is really good, four is great, five is transcendent genius. The star indicates it's a film I've seen before this year.

Five Star
Once Upon a Time in the West (Leone)
The Shining (Kubrick)*
Batman Returns (Burton)*
Infernal Affairs (Lau)*
Last Life in the Universe
Safe (Haynes)*
Magnolia (Anderson)*
Revenge of the Sith (Lucas)*
Oldboy (Park)*
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (Lynch)*
The Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson)*
Elephant (Van Sant)
Fallen Angels (Wong)*
Irreversible (Noe)*
3-Iron (Kim)
Punch Drunk Love (Anderson)*
Velvet Goldmine (Haynes)*
Ghost World (Zwigoff)*
American Beauty (Mendes)*
Domino (Scott)
The Big Lebowski (Coens)*
Casablanca (Curtiz)*
Mysterious Skin (Araki)
Barry Lyndon (Kubrick)*
Samaritan Girl (Kim)
The Hours (Daldry)*
Bad Guy (Kim)
The Matrix: Reloaded (Wachowskis)*
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Park)
The New World (Malick)

Four Star
Bonnie and Clyde (Penn)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Burton)
Once Upon a Time in America (Leone)
Hustle and Flow (Brewer)
Coffee and Cigarettes (Jarmusch)
Charade (Donen)
Love Actually (Curtis)*
Flirting with Disaster (Russell)
Bad Education (Almodovar)
Network (Lumet)
Amadeus (Forman)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (Wise)
Hard Eight (Anderson)
The Godfather (Coppola)*
Evil Dead II (Raimi)
Poison (Haynes)
Labyrinth (Henson)
One Hour With You (Lubitsch)
Serenity (Whedon)
A History of Violence (Cronenberg)
Mirrormask (McKean)
The Magnificent Ambersons (Welles)*
Last Days (Van Sant)
Shanghai Triad (Yimou)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Spielberg)*
A Snake of June
The Dreamers (Bertolucci)*
Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (Meyer)
The Lady from Shanghai (Welles)
Days of Heaven (Malick)
Heavenely Creatures (Jackson)
Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (Besson)
Man on Fire (Scott)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (Coppola)
Munich (Spielberg)

Three Star
Branded to Kill (Suzuki)
In Good Company (Weisz)
The Island (Baby)
Laura (Preminger)
She Hate Me (Lee)
Dead Man (Jarmusch)
Five Easy Pieces (Raefelson)
Birth (Glazer)
Don't Look Now (Roeg)
The Big Sleep (Hawks)
Rosemary's Baby (Polanski)
Pistol Opera (Suzuki)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (Roeg)
The Motorcycle Diaries (Salles)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Nichols)
Koyaanisqatsi
The General (Bruckman)
Akira
Lady Windemere's Fan (Lubitsch)
Videodrome (Cronenberg)
The Miracle at Morgan's Creek (Sturges)
Good Night and Good Luck (Clooney)
Stranger than Paradise (Jarmusch)
Jarhead (Mendes)
Night of the Hunter*
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Great Escape
The Long Goodbye (Altman)
Ichi the Killer (Miike)
Dogma (Smith)*
King Kong (Jackson)

Two Star
Forrest Gump (Zemeckis)
A Fistful of Dollars (Leone)
Wedding Crashers
Jules et Jim (Truffaut)
Bad News Bears (Linklater)
Jacob's Ladder (Lyne)
The Piano Teacher (Haneke)
High Fidelity
Army of Darkness (Raimi)
Corpse Bride (Burton)
Blonde Venus (Von Sternberg)
Detour (Ulmer)
The Reckless Moment (Ophuls)
X-Men (Singer)*
The Bad and the Beautiful (Minelli)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Cuaron)
X2: X-Men United (Singer)*
Expect the Unexpected
The Man with the Golden Arm (Preminger)*
The Chronicles of Narnia (Adamson)
Naked Lunch (Cronenberg)

One Star
Phantom of the Opera (Schumacher)
Made (Favreau)
Silmido
Farewell My Concubine (Kaige)
Amarilly of Clothesline Alley
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Grand Hotel
Now Voyager
Force of Evil
Forty Guns (Fuller)
The Producers (Strohman)

Best of 2005: Film

The time has come for my top ten list for 2005. A few days ago, I would have said this was a very weak year for film, however, in the last two days, I've seen two absolutely phenomenal movies that pretty much redeem the year. It's annoying that the release structure means that all almost all the quality films are released at the end of the year, meaning that I'm not able to get to all of them, while for most of the year you're struggling to find a decent film. However, at least they're out there and being in New York right now, I'm able to see the stuff I want.

Another note on this list, back when I was young, I was would always read the critics' top ten lists and be annoyed that they never had any movies I'd actually heard of or seen. Well, time has past and now I've got a list where only two of the films actually made it to theaters outside NY or L.A. and three of the films weren't even released theatrically here this year.

And one final note before we begin. I had 2046 and Oldboy on last year's list, they've been turning up on a lot of critics' list this year, and they would have been two and three respectively on this year's list. However, I'm not going to put films on the list two years in a row, they were films I saw last year, so they're on that list.

Anyway, onto the list...

10. Last Days - Van Sant followed the brilliant Elephant with a film in the same style, but a bit more challenging. Elephant used the archetypal high school types as a shortcut to easily make us understand what was going. Last Days is tougher because it is largely reliant on pre-existing knowledge of Kurt Cobain for its meaning. If you didn't know anything about Kurt, it would be a truly baffling film, but knowing about the man's life, it's a great antidote to the traditional biopic, exploring the person himself rather than the events that occurred to him. I love how the film builds incredible drama out of very small moments, even just eating macaroni and cheese helps to build the character, and while I could see how one could consider it a pointless, boring exercise, give it a chance and you'll learn a lot more about this guy than you could in a film saturated with plot. There may have been films I enjoyed more than this, but it's got the spot on the list because it's something that uses the medium in a very unique way.

My Review



9. Mirrormask - Like Last Days, this is a film with some issues, the second act drags and some of the CG is exhausting, but there are moments in the film that are so exciting and unique that it earns its place here. This film takes the 80s fantasy template, but adds in a really strong emotional undercurrent, with a lot of real world relevance. Watching the Dark Helen in the real world is wonderful on a solely visual level, but is also full of thematic complexities and the process of growing up. It's a film where the good parts are so good that they overwhelm the weaknesses.

My Review




8. Mysterious Skin - This film touches on some very dark and gritty subject matter, and is shot so that the dark stuff is certainly disturbing, but within the darkness there are moments of incredible beauty, both in terms of narrative and just visually. I'm thinking the opening and ending in particular, the image of the falling cereal sending sugar all around is one of the most striking openings I've ever seen. It's one of the rare American films that deals with serious subject matter in a contemporary setting. Normally, you only see big issues in historical films, this actually reminds me a lot of the tone of the films of Kim Ki-Duk...

My Review



7. Samaritan Girl - This is the first of two Kim Ki-Duk films on the list, and the second to deal with the issue of teenage prostitution. While it's not really a huge issue here, it's apparently a very big concern in Korea. This film, like most of Kim's work, is beautifully shot, with some great music choices. The reason this film is higher than Mysterious Skin is because the emotions are a bit more relatable. Also, despite being a relatively small scale film, it takes you on a huge journey, with a bunch of really strong plot twists. It's a film that would seem designed to shock with its subject matter, but instead turns out to shock because of how much you care about the characters.

My Review



6. Domino - This is certainly one of the more controversial selections on here, a Hollywood action film amongst a bunch of indie stuff, however, watching this movie, it's clear that it's anything but conventional. Tony Scott basically destroys the action genre, reducing it to isolated images of violence edited together at hyper-speed. It's a film where the filmmaking is the real highlight, you don't really care about the characters, it's the images, music and how they're put together that makes this fun to watch. The film somehow manages to take the energy that a great trailer has, but extend it to feature length, always building on what came before, leading up to a massive finale that pushes the violence and crazy filmmaking to its limit. Give this one a look, it's the craziest film to come out of the Hollywood machine in years.

My Review



5. Clean - Maggie Cheung is arguably the world's greatest actress, and with this role she moves away from her traditional regal roles into a gritter, more realistic film. Watching the film is watching her journey and it's riveting. I really wanted her to succeed in getting her life together, and as things did progress, the results were never sappy, but still very emotional. It's a really well made film, with some strong use of music, particularly Maggie's own singing. Like a lot of the films on here, it's a simple story that uses character rather than narrative as the driving force, and as a result, is a very strong emotional experience.

My Review



4. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - I had a lot of trouble placing this and the number 3 film. I've seen them both so recently that it's tough to get perspective. However, at 4, this is still a high ranking, and the film is a worthy successor to Oldboy. What put it so high is the joy I had watching it, each shot in the film was beautifully composed, there are very few people who can shoot a film like Park. By the end of the film, I was emotionally drained, but still exhilirated that such a powerful film exists.

My Review



3. The New World - As I mentioned before, in the past two days, I've seen two of the top films on this list. I'm going to do a full writeup of The New World later, but to sum it up, this movie takes you to another world. It not only recreates the physical space of early America, it puts you in the mental space too. The film is unbelievably beautiful, and the use of voiceover combined with great music creates a really unique space. Particularly in the early part of the film, where Smith is in the Indian camp, the images contain so much power. My primary gauge in making this list is my emotional reaction to the film, and watching this, particularly O'Orianka Kilcher's lead performance, was to be completely caught up in the feeling of the film. She gives one of the best lead performances I've seen in years, the joy in her face is just infectious. It's Malick's best.



2. 3-Iron - This was Kim Ki-Duk's year. 3-Iron is a modern day fairy tale about the power of love to transform the lives of two broken people. However, Kim's stark style keeps it from being sappy, and even though the occasional bursts of violence are disquieting, it's ultimately the feeling of peace and serenity that sticks with you. There's one moment that makes the movie for me, and it's pictured below. Everything you need to know about the movie is in that one image, that one moment. The whole movie has a feeling about it, and it's something I love to feel.

My Review



1. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - Reaching the end, another potentially controversial choice. The thing about this film is that it has a lot of problems, I wouldn't want to insult phones by saying that Natalie Portman was phoning it in, but the film's faults are eclipsed by one of the most ambitious stories in film history. I've never seen an entire universe falling apart, and the entire film has an apocalyptic feeling. Rather than go on and on about what worked, I'm just going to say that for the entire prequel trilogy, the thing I wanted to see was Jedi getting killed, and Darth Vader, and I don't think I was alone in this. And yet, the montage of the jedi getting killed was tragic, and when the Vader mask was finally put on, it was a devestating moment. This wasn't about finally getting to see the guy we'd all been waiting for, it was the death of someone who'd been so thoroughly broken and used by everyone around him. I liked the fact that Lucas didn't make it black and white, the Jedi were corrupt and clueless, the destruction was needed to pave the way for a new order in the next trilogy. This was my most anticipated film of all time, one that I'd been looking forward to for over fifteen years, and at the end of it, I was completely satisfied. Living up to that expectation alone makes it the best film of 2005.

My Review



So, following this, I'm going to post my star ranking of all the films I've seen this year, and my Academy Award nominations, and that will close out the year in film. I cracked on the stuff coming out this year quite a bit, it certainly wasn't at the level of last year, where there were five or six all time masterpieces, but things came back at the end, and we're left with enough really good movies to make things memorable.

1. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas)
2. 3-Iron (Kim Ki-Duk)
3. The New World (Terence Malick)
4. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Chanwook Park)
5. Clean (Olivier Assayas)
6. Domino (Tony Scott)
7. Samaritan Girl (Kim Ki-Duk)
8. Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki)
9. Mirrormask (Dave McKean)
10. Last Days (Gus Van Sant)

Best of 2005: Music

This is the first in a series of three articles that will cover my favorite stuff of 2005, following this will be TV and then film. So, this post will cover my top 10 albums of 2005. In terms of new music, this was actually a really strong year. I know most top ten lists are supposed to say it was a weak year, but looking at this year's crop of stuff, there were another ten strong albums I could have thrown on here.

10. Sufjan Stevens - Come on, Feel the Illinoise!: This album was a big hit in blog circles and after listening to it, it's easy to see why. It's a 75 minute album that functions like a suite more than a collection of songs, with some themes returning in different songs and everything building to a great finale. It's such an ambitious work, with a lot of eclectic instrumentation and songs that vary from exclamatory marches to the quiet darkness of 'John Wayne Gacy Jr.' I've only listened to this a few times, but each time I like it more.

Standout Track: They Are Night Zombies

9. Rachel Stevens - Come and Get It: This is an unashamedly pop album, with each song serving as a potential top radio hit. It all sounds contemporary but at the same time crosses into 70s glam rock and 80s synth pop. Much like Gwen Stefani's solo stuff, it sounds like your idealized memory of what 80s pop is like, rather than the real thing. It's catchy, glossy and always fun to listen to.

Standout Track: I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)

8. Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel: Much like Morrissey's 'You Are the Quarry,' this album takes everything you loved about the group in the 80s and updates it to today with a standout album. I would actually consider this their best album, with a really dark, forboding feel. Right from the first track it's clear that this is a bit of an update for Depeche, and on 'John the Revelator,' things go off in a techno gospel direction. 'Precious' sounds like the lost Depeche single from the 'Enjoy the Silence' era. It's a very moody, atmospheric album, top notch listening.

Standout Track: John the Revelator

7. Bob Mould - Body of Song: This is basically a rock album, but with some great techno flourishes at time. The thing I love about good techno music is the way it's primarily based around loops, adding and subtracting elements as the song progresses. So much of contemporary rock seems to be about having everything at 11 all the time, with drums going to excess and the singer screaming. This music, like Depeche Mode, is pretty dark at times, but it's never ugly. Mould has fantastic guitar work and really catchy songs, like the anthemic 'Paralyzed' or 'Circles.' However, the top track is definitely the vocoder backed '(Shine Your) Light Love Hope.'

Standout Track: (Shine Your) Light Love Hope

6. Gorillaz - Demon Dayz: I loved the first Gorillaz album, but I was a bit concerned when I heard that Dan the Automator wasn't going to be producing this one. However, Danger Mouse has made an album that's much darker than the original and equally good. The album uses hip-hop style beats with a lot of elements that are more typically rock, a combination that works really well on the single, 'Feel Good Inc.' which has a fantastic rock chorus (that's remarkably similar to U2's 'Staring at the Sun') but also some excellent rapping, such that it really is the best of both worlds. 'Dare' is ridiculously catchy and 'White Light' is another highlight. However, the best part of the album for me is the closing suite of songs that starts with a bizarre Dennis Hopper narrated story and builds up to a chorus backed finale on the title track.

Standout Track: Feel Good Inc.

5. Doves - Some Cities: Doves' Last Broadcast is one of my favorite albums of all time and this was definitely a worthy followup. Doves are great at doing exhilirating rock songs and 'Black and White Town' and 'Sky Starts Falling' are full of energy and life. 'The Storm' has a very cool trip hop feel, it's something I'd love to use in a film. The best track by far is 'Snowden' which has some of the most beautiful guitar work I've ever heard.

Standout Track: Snowden

4. Moby - Hotel: This was a really hated album, but listening to this thing, I think it's brilliant. Moby moves towards a more rock sound, but keeps the structural principles of dance music, meaning that rather than lyrics providing the base of the music, it's the actual music. So, a track like 'Beautiful' or 'Raining Again' may have very simple structures, but the way they build to the chorus is incredibly rewarding, particularly the driving build on the latter. I guess what this album does is combine the sound of indie rock and techno with the songwriting style of stadium rock, building anthems around loops and dark guitar. I think it works wonderfully.

Standout Track: Raining Again

3. Annie - Anniemal: One of the best pop albums of all time, every track has a gorgeous sheen, backed by perfect production. Annie's voice isn't that strong, but within the synth and bass environment of the songs, it works perfectly, the whispiness floating over the instruments, whether on the goofy fun 'Chewing Gum' or melancholy 'My Best Friend.' However, the standout track is 'Heartbeat,' which uses a driving bass to represent her racing heart over the course of a night at a party. Lyrically, it's surprisingly nuanced and on the whole, it's a perfect pop song.

Standout Track: Heartbeat

2. United State of Electronica - U.S.E: A fusion of Daft Punk style vocoder techno and Polyphonic Spree style anthemic songs, this is basically the perfect band for me. The songs take the same anthemic style of The Spree, but with a more party feel than the psuedo-religiousness of The Spree. The opening track states that "It Is On" and indeed it is right from there. Every track is catchy and layered with great instrumentals. There's also a nice variation between tracks, most notably on the very disco 'Night Shift.' If this album doesn't make you happy, something is wrong with you.

Standout Track: Emerald City

1. The Raveonettes - Pretty in Black: Once again, a fusion of retro and modern to create something new. Listening to this album the first time, I was struck by how 50s it sounded, but a couple more listening revealed that this was much more than 50s pastiche, it's updating the sounds of 50s rock and 60s girl group music into something darker and contemporary. There's two really strong rockers 'You Say, You Lie' and 'Twilight,' which takes the Twilight Zone theme song as its bass line. Then there's ballads, 'Here Comes Mary' and 'Ode to L.A.,' the latter which features gorgeous ethereal vocals. However, the two highlights of the album are 'Sleepwalking' and 'Uncertain Times.' 'Sleepwalking' has a slo-mo chorus, which then breaks into a hyper rocking verse, combining the best of their rock and ballad stuff. 'Uncertain Times' is incredibly beautiful, with a reckless abandon. It's one of the best tracks of the year and this is by far the best album of the year.

Standout Track: Uncertain Times