Eve Peaboy, a ex-showgirl, arrives in Paris without a cent to her name. She attracts the attention of Hungarian cab driver, Tibor Czerny, who drives her around all night looking for a job. While there is obvious chemistry between the two, Eve ends up fleeing, not willing to commit to love over money. Eve goes on to crash a socialite's late night soiree where she poses as Baroness Czerny, catching the eye of aristocrat Georges Flammarion, who doesn't see through her deception. Instead of exposing her fraud, Georges entices her with a life of luxury in return for Eve seducing his wife's playboy lover. Meanwhile, Tibor hasn't been able to shake Eve from his mind, employing all means necessary to find her and convince her that love trumps money. Mitchell Leisen's Midnight is a funny, charming and smart screwball comedy that ultimately centers around the age old debate of love vs. money. It's a incredibly well paced film, that is full of tons of great twists and turns which only heats up when Tibor arrives at the Flammarion estate to win back Eve, posing as the Baron himself. Almost every character in this film is deceptive to the others about their true intentions, making for an incredibly playful experience as each character tries to stay ahead of one and other. Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder's screenplay is not only a comedic riot, it also draws a nice parallel between the rich and the poor. Throughout the film we see their differences - how Tibor uses manpower to break down these societal barriers and find Eva - using the army of cabbies to get the information of Eva's whereabouts from the Ritz hotel, for example. It's subtle but we also see the differences in attitude, appearance, and economic means between the working class and this group of socialites. My only real complaint is that I found the conclusion to be a little too rushed, nonetheless, Midnight is a film that doesn't seem to get nearly as much credit as it deserves in being one of the better screwball comedies of the era. 9/10
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A airplane carrying a group of passengers is forced to make an emergency landing in the desert after a mysterious red cloud appears all around them. While no one is hurt during the landing, the group of passengers soon discover an alien presence is among them. Goke: Body Snatcher From Hell is essentially a Japanese b-movie spin-off of Invasion of the Body Snatchers that is certainly dumber, but still creative. In this version this gelatinous alien force takes control of its host by crawling into the forehead, turning them into these vampire-type creatures. What is so interesting about Goke, is its ability to be both incredibly stupid and smart at the same time. The film has a rather cynical viewpoint about the state of society, condemning us as merely individuals who are intent on killing each other. It uses this alien force which is intent on taking over the planet to make its point, essentially arguing that if humans weren't intent on killing each other they would be more prepared for the real threat of humanity - alien life forms. The actual passengers are pretty comical in their stereotypes, from the intellectual types (the psychiatrist, the scientist), to the American, who is portrayed in a very stereotypical way. The highlight of these types of films is the ingenuity and creativeness in designing the visuals and Goke is certainly no different. The film really has some great surrealistic imagery, particularly revolving around its use of color and the creature effects centered around the aliens and their spaceships. Goke: Body Snatcher From Hell definitely has some problems, particularly with its cookie cutter characterizations, but its creativity and ingenuity make the film interesting and entertaining. 6.5/10 Kotoko is a single mother who spends her life in constant fear of the world around her. She suffers from nightmarish mental problems resulting in horrifying figments of her imagination which leads to her routinely performing acts of self-mutilation as if to simply test if she is still alive. Obviously this type of condition is no place for a child, so Kotoko's sister is awarded custody. Shinya Tsukamoto's Kotoko is a raw, yet deeply respectful look at mental illness that is more emotionally resonant and interesting than the majority of the films dealing with the subject matter. Tsukamoto is certainly a divisive filmmaker but his highly kinetic style of filmmaking actually fits this subject matter quite well. The films greatest strength is how it plays with the viewers perception, putting us directly in Kotoko's point-of-view which results in making it very hard at times to understand what is real and what is merely in this fragile characters head-space. In fact, Kotoko does such a good job that the viewer themselves begins to feel mentally unstable themselves, horrified as to if what they are seeing is real or a figment of Kotoko's condition. The digital photography of Kotoko certainly leaves something to be desired in terms of basic aesthetic but it's apparent that this was more a monetary decision. That isn't to say that Kotoko isn't beautifully shot, it is, featuring compositions that both elicit feelings of horror, sadness and joy. It's a meditative experience a rather unique concept for a Tsukamoto film. Kotoko is not a character which many viewers will "like" but the film does a great job at showing the unequivocal love she has for her child, even if it isn't safe for her child to be with her. There is no denying that Shinya Tsukamoto's Kotoko is an incredibly difficult film to watch, full of scenes that are simply hard to experience, yet Kotoko has such great respect for its troubled protagonist that in doing so it is able to paint a beautiful, genuine, and tragic portrait of mental illness. 9.25/10 Set in the south two years before the start of the American Civil War, Django Unchained is the story of Django, a slave whose brutal history has led him to be purchased by Dr. King Schultz, a bounty hunter, who believes Django can help him find the Brittle brothers, who are wanted for their murderous ways. Dr. Shultz is a man who doesn't agree with slavery and after hunting down the Brittle brothers he decides to offer Django the chance to be his partner. While Django learns vital skills from his time as a Bounty Hunter, he never loses focus on his real goal, rescuing Broomhilda, his wife he lost in the slave trade years ago. Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained is a stylish and entertaining action film which ultimately suffers from many of the same issues as Tarantino's other recent efforts. Early on the film relies heavily on Christoph Waltz, who just feels like he was born to deliver a Tarantino screenplay, with his performance as Dr. King Schultz really being the highlight of the film. Tarantino's self-masturbatory dialogue, which was beyond frustrating in Inglorious Bastards, is toned down in Django, but the main problem I have with this "revisionist history" is that the drama is incredibly cheap and unearned. Of course it's fun to root for a slave who enacts his revenge on a bunch of racists but the film is never able to create much emotional resonance beyond what is simply earned from the subject matter. As to be expected, Django Unchained is very violent and well directed, with Tarantino using more expressionistic lighting and visual compositions then is typical for him. I must also mention that the loss of Tarantino's editor Sally Menke is clearly felt, as Django Unchained feels overlong and struggles with pacing, particularly towards the end of the film. The other major problem I had was with Samuel L. Jackson's character, Stephen, an Uncle Tom type character whose portrayal is fun but just too over-the-top to feel believable. There is a major plot point revolving around his ability to sniff out Django and Dr. Schultz true intentions which quite frankly was unconvincing. At the end of the day, Tarantino's Django Unchained is a lot of fun, drawing heavily from the Italian Spaghetti Westerns of the 60s and 70s but per usual for Tarantino, the film suffers from over-indulgence and excess fat which desperately needed to be trimmed. 7.5/10 |
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June 2023
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