Film Discoveries - April 2018

Hello everyone!  My top watches for April were a pretty diverse bunch.  We've got a little drama, some crime and even a little science fiction/horror.  First up is a John Huston flick about small time people...

Fat City - 1972

The 1970s was a period of filmmaking that I used to reflexively dislike.  The film stock seemed muddy and ugly to me and that turned me off to it.  Now, I see that ugliness and rawness as a feature, rather than a downside.  I've grown very tired of the artificial look that many modern films go for.  The last thing that films from the 1970s look like is artificial, feeling like real life, in all its imperfect, non-color-corrected splendor.  

That all goes to say that I really responded to how real Fat City feels.  There's no glamor here. The plot is driven by the characters and I never get the sense that the drama is being ramped up unnaturally.  It's not particularly uplifting either, but it's meaningful.  It's life on film.

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/fat-city/

Availability 

Fat City is currently available on a region free blu-ray from Indicator.  Digital purchase and rental options are also available.

Charley Varrick - 1973

Continuing with the theme of my reappraisal of 1970s films, next up is Charley Varrick.  Varrick is the kind of protagonist that the Man wouldn't allow in our crime films today, never mind that the average guy is probably a bit more Walther Mathau than Tom Cruise.  Don Siegel directs this smarter-than-average crime flick, while the excellent cast includes Joe Don Baker and Andy Robinson.

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/charley-varrick/

Availability

Charley Varrick is currently available on Region B Blu-ray from Indicator as well as on DVD from Universal.  Digital purchase and rental options are also available.

Diabolique - 1955

Diabolique has quite the reputation.  Noted as a great suspense piece with far-reaching influence, I'm happy to say it more than lives up to its accolades.

It's a French film, and that's actually pretty important as the norms surrounding sex and marriage in that country were quite different from those in the U.S. during this period.  In the film, an abused wife teams up with her husband's mistress to bump off the dirty, rotten, no-good man.  The whole situation is handled in a very frank manner, which distinguishes it from some American films of the '50s.

You're probably not going to be watching Diabolique to study the society of 1950s France, though.  You watch it because it's a great, tense piece of storytelling.  I was unaware of how much the movie was affecting me until I caught myself holding my breath, waiting to see how it would play out.

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/diabolique-1955/

Availability

Diabolique is available on physical media, both DVD and Blu-ray, from the Criterion Collection.  It's also available to buy or rent digitally.

A Quiet Place - 2018

A Quiet Place isn't a success because of its (very) high concept.  A near future in which humans hide from blind monsters who use fine-tuned ears to hunt prey is only interesting for so long.  Rather, it's the themes of the film that set it apart.  A family coming together to face their attackers, with input from the mother, father and children isn't a political statement, but it's refreshing to see it presented without crippling amounts of dysfunction or turning either of the parents into villains.

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/a-quiet-place-2018/

Availability

A Quiet Place is currently available for pre-order from sellers like Amazon.

Film Discoveries - February 2018

Hello everyone!  My apologies for the lateness of this post.  Things in my personal life have been hectic, but I'll try to be more timely after this bit of catch-up.  This update will cover my top four first time watches for the month of February 2018.  Lots of crime and darkness in this month's discoveries! 

Angel Face - 1953

As with January's list, February's batch of new discoveries begins with a great 1950s film noir.  I may be a sucker for old crime films, but because I've seen so many, I'm pretty hard to impress.  Please take that into account when I say that Angel Face is excellent.

I'd heard the movie brought up a few times before, but I'm surprised it isn't praised more highly because this is really top tier film noir.  It's bleak, twisted and morally complicated, with a focus on consequences that is really powerful.  It doesn't hurt to have Robert Mitchum and a wonderful Jean Simmons performance either.  

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/angel-face/

Availability

Angel Face is currently available on DVD from the Warner Archive.

Le Samouraï - 1967

Next, we move from 1950s California to France in the 1960s for Jean-Pierre Melville's classic Le Samouraï.  I'm always a little disappointed when I have to highlight a film that is so well-known and highly-regarded because a) it may be a "discovery" to me, but it certainly isn't to the majority of serious film fans and b) there is very little I can add to the conversation surrounding it.  I will say that it is a masterpiece of direction as you feel Melville's hand in every tiny aspect of the movie.  

While I enjoyed the director's Le Cercle Rouge, I found its coldness to be off-putting.  Here, and maybe the difference is that Le Samouraï is more focused, I had no such issue.

If you've been putting off seeing this because it's an oldie, stop!  It's about as cool as they come.

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/le-samourai/

Availability

Le Samouraï is currently available on DVD and Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection. 

Klute - 1971

We continue our dive into the darkness with Klute.  Klute is many things, most ostensibly a mystery, but it's also an exploration of addiction and a meditation on human connection.  I'd argue that it's solid as the first of those and far better as the other two.

Jane Fonda gives a truly great performance as the prostitute at the center of the story.  Not to be missed!

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/klute/

Availability

Klute is currently available on DVD from Warner Brothers.  Digital options are also available.

The Curse of the Cat People - 1944

The Curse of the Cat People is one of the few Val Lewton movies I have yet to check out.  While I don't love every one of his films, they are always interesting and often display a great command of tone and suspense.  It's not surprising to me, then, that this movie is one of my best first time watches.  

First of all, if you're a fan of 1942's Cat People, do not expect this to be a standard sequel.  Rather, The Curse of the Cat People uses the original movie as background for a story about childhood and the ways in which adults allow their own fears to control their relationships with their children.  That could get ugly fast, but there's real beauty to the visuals here, rendering the film evocative and meaningful instead of harsh.

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/the-curse-of-the-cat-people/

Availability

The Curse of the Cat People is available in several DVD versions that appear to be out of print.  A brand new Blu-ray from Scream Factory is scheduled to be released June 12, 2018.

Film Discoveries - January 2018

Hello everyone!  This update will cover my top four first time watches for the month of January 2018.  This month's discoveries are a bit uncharacteristic for me, as at least one new film typically breaks into the list.  Don't hold that against them, though; this batch is pretty great.  So, without further ado...

The Narrow Margin - 1952

If there's anything that impresses me about the The Narrow Margin, it's just how jam-packed it is.  The story of a police officer (Charles McGraw) escorting a witness to California by train so that she can testify against the Mob, it's got pathos, suspense, colorful characters, and a couple plot twists that keep everything interesting.  The fact that all of this fits inside a nice 71 minute package is really remarkable and the movie is now among my favorite films noir.

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/the-narrow-margin/

Availability

The Narrow Margin is currently available on DVD from the Warner Archive.

The Naked Prey - 1965

Perhaps the inclusion that would generate the most controversy (due in part to its portrayal of a white man on the run from African pursuers), The Naked Prey nevertheless spoke to me in a way I can't deny.  Its unrelenting, existential chase never really lets up and it's a major achievement that the film sustains that momentum (more or less) the length of its runtime.  As far as the more controversial aspects of the film, I actually thought it was uncharacteristically fair to the African tribes it portrays, who are never shown as being morally or intellectually inferior.

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/the-naked-prey/

Availability

The Naked Prey is currently available on DVD from the Criterion Collection and on Region B Blu-ray from Masters of Cinema.

Caged - 1950

Caged is a surprisingly dark prison film.  In it, a young woman, played by Eleanor Parker, is locked away for being an accessory to a robbery.  While inside, she meets a variety of well-sketched characters, both criminal and correctional, who populate the prison and fights to maintain her personality and beliefs in a system that seems designed to make the worst out of even the least-guilty inmates.  The film's depictions of corruption and abuse really struck me as they are very frank for a movie from 1950.

Note:  Caged was singled out on the Pure Cinema Podcast for Brian Saur and Elric Kane's discussion of prison films (http://thepinksmoke.com/purecinemapodcast.html), so you don't have to take my word that it's great!

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/caged/

Availability

Caged is currently available on DVD from Warner Brothers.

After the Thin Man - 1936

One of the few non-Marvel sequels to make my monthly list, After the Thin Man earns its spot by being a more perfectly-mixed version of The Thin Man's already successful formula.  It's got wit and charm and some good mystery.  It also gets bonus points for having an early Jimmy Stewart performance.  What's not to like?

My Letterboxd review:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/film/after-the-thin-man/

Availability

After the Thin Man is currently available on DVD from Warner Brothers.  This DVD appears to be out of print.  It's still readily available as a digital purchase, though.

Introduction or Me, the Blog, and the Movies

So, a blog, huh?  Why do that?

As a lifelong movie fan, I’ve always enjoyed picking apart films with smart people.  One of my favorite rituals growing up was going to the movies with my brothers.  This would followed by a meal (preferably Tex-Mex or burgers) and a couple hours of goodhearted discussion.  Everything was on the table, so to speak, from the movie's themes, performances, and politics, to the way in which the movie was marketed and the online response to the film.  As time has gone on, these thoughtful, film-centric meals became more rare, so I had to look to the Internet for movie talk.

To put it lightly, online film discussion has left something to be desired.  I found that a lot of the conversation surrounding movies centers on only a few blockbuster titles and often devolves into venemous fan skirmishing.  This kind of negativity was baffling to me.  Why, when we have over one hundred years of good flicks, would we waste so much time on the films that we simply don't like?  I got tired with a culture that seemed to elevate YouTube countdowns of everything wrong with Film X and didn't lift up thoughtful discussion and analysis.  Where was a film fan, someone who actually likes film as a medium and appreciates movies that are older, and weirder, to go?

I joined Letterboxd in 2015 and, despite its flaws, it's been a great resource to help me track my own viewing habits.  One of the site's features is the ability to list four favorite films on one's profile.  Beginning in February 2016, I decided to update these on a monthly basis, for the best first time watches from the previous month.  I've been tracking these at the list here ever since:

https://letterboxd.com/carcinogent/list/monthly-favorites-running-list/

Beginning this year, with my January 2018 favorites, I'm going to start writing up my favorite monthly discoveries, searching for patterns amongst these titles and hopefully highlighting exactly what I find so special about each and every one of them.  As I do this, I’m going to share my personal journey in film.  Look for that first post in the next week or so.

Feel free to follow and comment!  I'm always happy to engage in (respectful) conversation.