The Automatik

The influences that make up the delightful pastiche that is Down With Love are too numerous to mention. In fact, it’s coded with so much familiar iconography that you don’t even have to have seen all the films it references to get it. Hooray for Postmodernism! And then there’s That Touch of Ewan.
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I re-watched Ghost World over Christmas, so I’ve been thinking of it a lot, trying to determine exactly what it is I took from the movie to make me like it so much. After reading some reviews online, I’ve finally been prompted to write what I should have written when I first saw the film.
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Once, on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Joel Hodgson and his robot sidekicks discussed the subtlety of evil. Joel asked Crow T. Robot what he thought of Hitler. Crow immediately replied that he hated him, naturally. Then Joel asked Crow what he thought of the band Styx. Crow admitted that they weren’t so bad, they had some good songs, then he let out a cry of horror as he finally understood what Joel was trying to convey. Although Justine, the main character in The Good Girl isn’t necessarily evil, she’s quite adept at proving the subtle nature of selfishness and apathy.
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My rule of thumb is this: if I’m still thinking about a movie the day after I’ve seen it, then it was worth seeing, and often will go into my “favorite movies” list. Not only have I not stopped thinking about Secretary, I haven’t even been able to make sense of what I think about it. Not since Fight Club has a movie so unsettled me. I’m even more hesitant than normal to give away plot details, but if some creep into this review, please forgive me.
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I think previews should be banned. More often than not, they give away all of the best plot points, scenes and dialogue and can be more emotionally affecting than the actual film. That isn’t to say that I found Moonlight Mile a total disappointment. In fact, I was really impressed by the way all of the characters conveyed such realistic emotions with simple gestures instead of verbal histrionics. When Joe Nast (Jake Glyllenhall) walks into his would-be father-in-law Ben’s living room and asks Ben if he wouldn’t rather turn the light, he’s met with the dreaded “we need to talk” line. You can see Joe’s shoulders tense and you can feel his face blanch even though he’s only visible in heavy shadow.
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Not to be one of those “George Lazenby was my favorite James Bond” types, but Manhunter is perhaps the best of the films based on Thomas Harris’s Hannibal Lecter novels, although it may not be as well known as the others. Which leads me to ask why Red Dragon the movie needed to be made at all, since Manhunter already brought the Red Dragon novel to the screen so superbly.

I’m also puzzled as to why Edward Norton, arguably the De Niro of his generation, needed to be in this film. De Niro was in Taxi Driver, The Godfather and The Deer Hunter and now he lends his talents to buddy cop movies with Eddie Murphy. I sincerely hope that Mr. Norton doesn’t stumble down that same questionable path.

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I’m wincing as I type this, but if you can imagine Catcher in the Rye as penned by Bret Easton Ellis, then you’ve got a pretty good idea of what it feels like watching Igby Goes Down. In this era of homage and ripoff, it’s difficult to find truly original filmmaking. Despite being somewhat derivative, Igby Goes Down manages to breathe life into the clich�d “poor little rich boy” schtick that we’ve seen many times before.
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Frank Sinatra called, he wants his movie back.

I don’t regret that I’ve never seen the original version of this film. Although a movie with Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis, Jr. does sound appealing, I don’t think I could stomach Ol’ Blue Eyes for two solid hours. In these times of fervent, almost paranoid nationalism, I will stand proudly by my statement that I do not like Frank Sinatra. I never have and probably never will.
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The first time I saw this movie, I hated it. I hated the flat, emotionless voice over and the faux-Film Noir stylings. I loathed this movie for the next four years and dreaded the idea of having to analyze it for my Science Fiction Cinema class when I was a junior in college. After I watched it, though, I did a Pauline Kael and realized that it was truly amazing. I loved it even more when the Director’s Cut was released a few years later without all that ridiculous voice-over rubbish.
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Be true to your teeth or they will be false…to you.
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