Director Antonioni Dies

Much like Bergman I'm afraid I have not delved into Antonioni's work, for him I even say it is far less. I was watching late night one night on Turner Classic Movies (The one network I cannot live without) and they were showing "Blow-Up". I went into to the movie knowing Antonioni's name and knowing this was on Roger Ebert's great movies list (Although I had not read his essay on the film). I went into the film knowing nothing which I think is the best way to view a movie. What was with the mimes playing tennis at the end? I don't know, but I loved the movie, I was addicted to it, I couldn't stop watching it. I can't say I understood all of the movie or what it was conveying in the end, but I was stimulated by it, I felt passionate about film which happens when I watch a stimulating movie. Sadly this was the only time I've ever experience an Antonioni film, that was last October. I guess I shouldn't say anything about the man since I don't know the bulk of his work, the same should be said about Bergman, but they are men that are discussed who have made films that can be dissected and examined. I hope to see more of these men's work as they become available to me and I hope to discuss them with the same admiration I hold other film makers like Ozu, Capra, Truffaut, Spielberg, and Ford.

Remembering Bergman

I have to admit I haven't looked into Ingmar Bergman's films all that extensively but I felt something should be said of the man some considered our greatest living film maker. I have only seen a handful of Bergman's films, I cannot say I understood everything I've seen which made me want to watch them again and again. At times I felt turned off in Bergman's films. When I first saw the great film "Fanny and Alexander" I didn't know how I was supposed to feel. I was frustrated but I knew I didn't know the world of film all that well and I was still learning. I intend to go back to "Fanny and Alexander" and hope to understand it better.
"The Seventh Seal" is the film that introduced me to Bergman, I knew of the famous image of playing chess with death and I wanted to see the film where the image came from. I still try to wrap my mind around it, it's a film where Bergman offers no answers only that death is inescapable.
As I grew out of my teens and into my mid-twenties I realized that a lot of the questions I was asking myself like what's the meaning of life and what happens when we die were what Bergman specialized in. For awhile it seemed like my life was getting more morbid asking these questions, but in another way it was becoming more clear. I knew there were some questions I would never get answered, and I stopped obsessing about it. "The Seventh Seal" in particular works as a catharsis. It's asking all those questions we sooner or later do think about. It shares our frustrations and our fears about death, but it makes it ok because we know we are not alone in our thoughts. In the end we might march along on the Grim Reaper's chain, but it's that inevitability of death that makes life worth living.
Bergman's final film "Saraband" which was released only two years ago is a film of an old divorced couple coming together for what will be the last time. It's not so much a film about regret but a film about acceptance. In the most poignant scene we see the man and woman looking at eachother naked, each one knowing the others strengths and weaknesses. There's a look of sympathy and of love for the other, it was as if all of their mistakes didn't matter anymore. I wish "Saraband" was more highly regarded and perhaps in years to come it will be, it was Bergman's final statement on life and on death. He makes no apologies for human nature because when we are all stripped to our bare essentials we're all the same just skin and bones.

Surprise, it was awesome!!!

Well there's no way getting around it, "The Simpsons Movie" is proof there is a God and he's bald and likes doughnuts. Click here http://www.myspace.com/jeremyimnotedgar for my full review.

I didn't like "Chuck and Larry"

I'm not even bothering adding a picture and if you want my scathing review just go here http://www.myspace.com/jeremyimnotedgar.

Is it "Helping" or "Exploiting"

Lay off! That's what I got to say to all those "so-called" real news stations who are going over and over on why Lindsay Lohan is in trouble again. I suppose we all have our own view of Lindsay Lohan. What gets me is when we have places like CNN talking over and over Lindsay this and Lindsay that. If you didn't know already Lindsay Lohan was arrested again over a DUI charge again. News shows I despise like CNN's Entertainment Tonight carbon copy "Showbiz Tonight" is showing ways Lohan needs to be helped, but what they really are doing is exploiting her. By calling her a train wreck is not helping her. They aren't even encouraging in anyway. If Lindsay Lohan were to disappear so would their story, so stop trying to sound like you're sincere when it comes to Lohan's well-being. Then there's Nancy Grace you know that hard-nosed former prosecutor who must've gotten tired of exploiting suicidal wrestlers who kill their own family.

Is it any wonder this girl has problems. If Marilyn Monroe had to go through Nancy Grace, "Showbiz Tonight" and TMZ back when she was alive, she might've killed herself earlier. These people who try to blame a star like Lohan for being spoiled and rich is doing just as much damage by not understanding that this is a 21 year old girl. By the sound of it she doesn't have that great of personal life with her family, she has gone to rehab and whether or not she took that seriously is not for us to judge since it's supposed to be a personal thing.

Let's not forget this girl can act. Robert Altman cast her in a film and he was a smart enough director not to just cast her as a stunt. So far it is her best role to date where she plays a teenager obsessed with death. You could probably tell Altman sensed a brooding edginess to Lohan for him to pick her for that part. She held her own against Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, and one hopes that another great director can pick up where Altman left off and put Lohan in a role that could change the way people look on her.

I can't help but feel sorry for Lindsay Lohan, I hope she puts herself together and I hope she puts the pressure of the business of show in the back of her mind. As for Showbiz Tonight and Nancy Grace and TMZ.com who are showing off Lindsay as some kind of monster I suggest you watch "A Prairie Home Companion" and look at the young talent you are helping destroy. Stop pretending to be trying to help her and find your dignity.

The Most Anticipated Movie of the Summer....

Alright I've sat through Spidermen, Pirates, unfunny green ogres with Scottish accents, talking transforming robots, and John McClane, finally we get to the good stuff. For every summer there is at least one movie that comes around that gets my mouth watering. Last year it was "Superman Returns", the year before that it was "Star Wars: Episode 3", this years it's "The Simpsons Movie." It's the kind of movie that critics be damned I'm going to see opening night. I won't read any reviews of the film before hand and come in with an open mind. Even if the film isn't all that good I will still defend it to my dying day and tell everyone I know that they have to see it. For me it's part nostalgia (I was the exact same age Bart is when the show premiered) and part super fan (I have all nine seasons released on DVD, not to mention the game board Simpson's Clue, a trivia game, a poster, and Bart Simpson's Guide to Life") I admit I don't watch many of the new shows on television anymore that are supposed to be good like "The Office" or "30 Rock". Mostly because my life is too busy right now, but I always find time for "The Simpsons". Even though their time as pop culture icons has dimmed in past years, they still remain relevant and clever. And despite newer animated shows like the uninspiring "Family Guy" (Which holds a never ending debt to "The Simpsons") no one has created a perfect balance of insanity and pathos in their shows. As in the early shows that dealt with real family problems like Homer trying to find money for Christmas or Lisa falling for her substitute teacher, it was an emotional ride unseen in animation. But they were still able to find episodes that were full of inspired insanity like the classic monorail episode which also showed why the world is a little sadder without comic genius Phil Hartman. There's also when the town builds a casino, or when Homer meets his enemy Frank Grimes, and remember Whacking Day?

I love "The Simpsons" and I know if the movie isn't any good that doesn't mean the show is any less brilliant. I think "The Simpsons" is probably the best show I've had the privilege to watch and I hope it stays with us for years to come.

And the Winner is........

SHERLOCK JR. narrowed out The General as the best Buster Keaton film in my first poll done on my blog. Of course there were only 3 votes (2 of which were by me) but hey who's counting. Catch my new poll coming soon.

Just when you thought oh no not another Travolta movie! Surprise it's a good one.

Finally I have a running for best summer movie so far. Check out what I thought of "Hairspray" here http://www.myspace.com/jeremyimnotedgar. Needless to say I'd skip the new Adam Sandler flick.

Stars and Their Directors

I've always found it interesting how some directors like to depend on their favorite actors in their most important movies. Sometimes it tells a lot about a director by the actor they choose. In some cases, the actor becomes so associated with one director, it's hard not to think about one without thinking about the other. So here are a few of my favorite director/star teamings.

1. John Ford/John Wayne: Ford always had his stock company (Which included Ward Bond, Ben Johnson, and Victor McGlaglen) but Wayne was the man who steered the way. I don't think Wayne would've become the star...no the icon he is now had it not been for Ford who took him under his wing. Together they formed an American myth that is still unequaled by others

Essential Ford/Wayne Films: "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", "The Quiet Man", "The Searchers

2. Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart: I think it was Capra that turned James Stewart into Jimmy Stewart. Although they only made three films together, both Capra and Stewart go hand in hand with wholesome American ideals, but the films they made together although sweet and inspirational on the outside, usually had something deeper brewing underneath. They not only showed the harrowing human spirit but also the sacrifices and risks you have to take to accomplish it.

Essential Capra/Stewart Films: "You Can't Take it With You", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "It's a Wonderful Life"

3. Akira Kurosawa/Toshiro Mifune: You could argue that these two did for the east what Ford and Wayne did for the west. Mifune would work with Kurosawa on his most important works. Their films were usually morality plays, and Mifune had the kind of flamboyant performing that matched well with Kurosawa's Shakespearean fables. To this day there has never been a better Macbeth put on screen than Mifune

Essential Kurosawa/Mifune Films: "The Seven Samurai", "Throne of Blood", "Yojimbo"

4. Martin Scorcese/Robert De Niro: Just a great match from "Means Streets" to "Casino". This pair came from the same place, it's like one knows what the other is thinking, there is much give and take in the relationship and a great deal of trust. Take their greatest creation together Jake LaMotta. It was De Niro's character, and Scorcese's world, it was a nice cruel world only the two of them could understand so well.

Essential Scorcese/De Niro Films: "Mean Streets", "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull"

5. Howard Hawks/Cary Grant: Sure you could say Hawks had a nice relationship going with John Wayne and Grant had a good thing going with Hitchcock, but when these two were together it was a firecracker. It seemed they shared a similar sense of humour that you could see in their comedies, but in the one drama they did together "Only Angels Have Wings" comes a clear understanding of the themes of male bonding and quiet dignity, it's done with style and class, two things this director and star had in common.

Essential Hawks/Grant Films: "Bringing Up Baby", "Only Angels Have Wings", "His Girl Friday"

6. John Huston/Humphrey Bogart: They were both rebels and both mavericks and both have the other to thank for their stardom. When young director Huston was casting his first film "The Maltese Falcon" and got Bogart as the lead, it was a match made in film noir heaven. The two carried on with three more films together which are all classics. Bogart had a lot of great roles but Huston knew how to get the best out of him all the time. The two are the best examples of men working on their terms and coming out on top.

Essential Huston/Bogart Films: "The Maltese Falcon", "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", "The African Queen"

7. Steven Sodebergh/George Clooney: I have high hopes for these two to be a classic duo in years to come. Lately they have become inseparable as both director and star and producing partners. Sure some films seem to be just for the fun of it (Ocean's 12) but they come out swinging and seem to enjoy doing what they do. If it's not always a home run with these two, it's always interesting.

Essential Sodebergh/Clooney Films: "Out of Sight", "Ocean's 11", "The Good German"

8. Tim Burton/Johnny Depp: Forget those Pirate movies for a sec and remember for a moment all those great roles Depp did for Burton all of them you could argue could have been nominated for oscars way before Captain Jack. Burton's done some good work when not with Depp and Vice Versa, but the two seem to be gelling when they're together, it's a weird wonderful vibe.

Essential Burton/Depp Films: "Edward Scissorhands", "Ed Wood", "Sleepy Hollow"

9. Billy Wilder/Jack Lemmon: Sure you could say Wilder had a good run with William Holden, but it wasn't till Lemmon showed up in drag in "Some Like it Hot" that the director found a kindred spirit. So strong was the link with Lemmon that Wilder wrote him "The Apartment" so he could star in it. The two carried on with many films together and even teaming Lemmon with his other kindred spirit Walter Matthau for the first time ever.

Essential Wilder/Lemmon Films: "Some Like it Hot", "The Apartment", "Avanti!"

10. Yazujiro Ozu/Chishu Ryu: He was in a number of Ozu films sometimes playing the lead like in Tokyo Story, sometimes in a small role like the farmer in "The End of Summer", but an Ozu film just doesn't seem like an Ozu film without Ryu there somewhere. Ryu always seemed to be a soothing voice and sometimes one of great wisdom but sometimes of disillusionment. But it's a comfort to see.

Essential Ozu/Ryu: "Late Spring", "Tokyo Story", "Tokyo Twilight"

Our Special Jury Prize Goes to

Buster Keaton/Buster Keaton: These two were inseparable, never had I seen so much punishment that one star suffered for his director (He even broke his neck and kept going with the scene). It is the only time I can think of where the star appeared in every one of the director's films. There was nothing one wouldn't do for the other, they grew up in similar backgrounds, and once the director went on to lose creative control, and the star had to settle for whatever came, but he never complained. Still when these two were in sync the world was better for it.

Essential Keaton/Keaton Films: "Our Hospitality", "Sherlock Jr.", "The General"

So did I miss anyone? Tell me some of your favorite director/star team ups. I'd love to hear them.

Who's gonna stop this kid?

Harry and his friends may be showing their age more and more, but the series is showing no signs of slowing down. Click here http://www.myspace.com/jeremyimnotedgar for my full review.

My Review of Transformers

Despite my apprehension of Michael Bay, I just couldn't say no to toys who were such a big part of my life growing up. Click here http://www.myspace.com/jeremyimnotedgar to read my review.

Die Hard Gone PC

Read my review of the new PG-13 "Die Hard" movie here http://www.myspace.com/jeremyimnotedgar, what is the world coming to?

Robinson On Spielberg

Tomorrow if you'll be doing what I'll be doing, you'll be settling yourself down to the Turner Classic Movies channel and tune in to the new documentary entitled Spielberg on Spielberg, it's a new in depth look at the man and his films. Like some people, I am never really interested in Spieberg the mogul or Spielberg the producer or Spielberg the king of Hollywood. I was always interested in Spielberg the film maker.

As a kid growing up on new and old films, I have to say Spielberg was probably the first (along with Frank Capra) film maker I became immensly interested in. That partially was because Spielberg made very accessible films, they were made for the public, but even at an early age I felt there was a difference between his work and other work made for the mass. His films were at times very personal, and always had an air a mystery to them. While other blockbusters couldn't wait to get you to the special effects sequnces, Spielberg made sure there was a concrete story surrounding the FX before the big reveal, and he still does that.

Just look at "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", about two thirds of the film are spent on the build up, and it is at the end that Spielberg lets the spaceships fly so not to disapoint.

Spielberg I think is perhaps the most misunderstood of film directors. Since he does work in the larger Hollywood business, there is a certain art film elitist attitude towards his films. His most recent movie "Munich" became very polarized between critics, many (perhaps more open minded critics) judged the film for what it was, while others claimed that Spielberg should just stick with his films about aliens and dinosaurs. That is an unfair response, Spielberg usually always has more things going on in his films than people give him credit for, particularily his more popular ones. If we look at "Close Encounters" which is probably the most intelligent Sci-fi film post "2001". It deals with aliens now being enlightend beings who bring a message of communication. It's a simple and profound message to bring, not to mention the darkness of the disintigrating family as the father becomes so obssessed with the alien creatures it drives his family apart. Do we see this in the latest summer blockbusters?

Let's take perhaps his most famous film "E.T. The Extraterrestrial", a film about a long lost alien befriending a boy who is coping with the divorce of parents. It is probably the single best film about the life of children and the world they inhabit.

If you look at even more recent films such as "A.I." which is full of some very philisophical ideas about creating the perfect machine that could be human and also love, and the ethics surrounding the idea of disposing that machine, and although some people missed it, "War of the Worlds" was actually a metaphor for the post 9/11 world.

I think Spielberg is actually still growing as an artist, I can separate him away from other technical wizards like Peter Jackson or James Cameron or even his own protoge Robert Zemeckis who in my opinion are still more interested in spectacle than character. I think Spielberg is always concerned with his characters, and he has directed some of the best performances from his actors.

I will not say Spielberg is perfect, he has landed on his face plenty of times ("Hook", "1941"), but I think his track record is better than average, I am not ashamed about naming him along with greats like Hitchcock, Ford, and for those foreign elitists Renoir. Spielberg is an artist, and yest his name does come up a lot about influencing the way movies are made today which is for the general public which helped tear apart the exciting indie scene of the 70s but that's just people trying to find a scapegoat. You need someone to blame for "Armeggdon"? Blame Michael Bay or Jerry Bruckheimer, if Spielberg was in charge he would probably have you caring for the asteroid by the end. I hope you tune into the Turner Classic Movies special tomorrow and look at him with an open mind.

As a side note, if you wanna hear my thoughts on Spielberg's classic "E.T. The Extraterrestrial" visit myspace at this address http://www.myspace.com/jeremyimnotedgar

A Break in the Summer with Ozu

It's hard to believe it's been about a year since I introduced myself to Yasujiro Ozu. It was then when I made one of the most important of my film purchases by buying "Tokyo Story". The first time I viewed the film I didn't know what to make of it, it was a new style, and leisurely paced. There was hardly any real manipulative emotion in it. By the end I wasn't sure I liked the film, but something strange happened, I kept thinking about it. Days past and images of the film were in my mind, I was also intrigued by the theme of the disintegration of the family, and the gaps between generation. I decided to give the film another chance. This time I noticed small nuances in characters and subtleties in the dialogue I had not noticed before, by the end I had a clearer understanding of the beauty that the film was. I've watched it over and over and again with an audio commentary, I wanted to learn more and more about the film and Ozu in particular.

This was an exciting time for me, I love discovering a new film that you just fall in love with. It was like the first time I heard Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde" or the first time I read a book by Dickens, it was something new, something that required my attention. It wasn't just the film, but it was the style and the themes. I wanted to experience more films by Ozu. Soon I found "Early Summer" a film about a family trying to get their daughter to marry, then came "Late Spring", a film with the same basic plot, but this time it's about a widowed father and his daughter who lives with him. The father knows he must marry off his daughter before she gets too old, but the daughter wants to stay with her father. The ending of the film is heartbreaking and it made me a lover of Japanese actress Setsuko Hara who plays the daughter and Chishu Ryu who plays the father. "Late Spring" and "Tokyo Story" remain two of my favorite films, it is very rare that I've seen so much humanity in two films such as these.

I cannot say much about the style of Ozu since I have only seen eight of his 50+ films he made. His films are still pretty hard to find, and were only available in North America in the 70s. His films were described as being too Japanese to fit in the western world. I tend to disagree with that, even though Ozu deals with the Japanese way of life, his themes are universal. What I observed through his films is he has a very unfussy style. He very rarely uses establishing shots in his films, and usually just makes straight cuts to the next scene. He does not seem to be a stickler for continuity and is a strong offender of the 180 degree rule, but it doesn't seem to matter. He focuses on the characters and the situations, he cares about what the actors are doing. The actors in Ozu's films seem to give more natural performances than say a Kurosawa film which are usually more theatrical. Ozu also doesn't depend on manipulative emotion to control his story, the emotion in his films are subtle and raw, he's probably the closest I've seen of showing tragedy in its purest most real form. In real life it's very uncommon to see people cry in a public showing, Ozu shows the inner sadness of these people, and the poetry that is part of everyday life.

As summer is upon us and the Hollywood blockbuster is dominating every major screen in North America, I took time away from that all to reflect on some newly discovered (at least for me) work by Ozu the film maker. A new box set of some of Ozu's later work was released a few weeks ago. Entitled "Late Ozu", it comes courtesy of a surrogate of The Criterion Collection entitled The Eclipse Series. Here are the titles I've just experienced, I suggest anyone else does the same.

Early Spring: A married salary man in postwar Tokyo becomes bored with his mundane life and decides to have an illicit affair with a flirtatious co-worker. This is a real moving portrait of a disintegrating marriage and also the harsh realities of being an office worker knowing that the rest of your life is already mapped out for you.

Tokyo Twilight: One of the most devastatingly tragic films I've ever seen. I was shocked to hear that this was not one of Ozu's most successful or acclaimed films, my theory is because it is probably his most melodramatic and least Ozu-like film. No matter, it is an emotionally charged film about two sisters with their own separate problems, and their disillusioned father. The story deals with separation, abortion, and alienation perhaps better than any film I've seen, but it mostly deals with a disintegration of the family unit, which is something Ozu focused on countless times. I guess what affected me most about this film was how Ozu seemed to by focusing on characters I already knew. I was touched and saddened by each one. The decision of each character in the film was so true and real, and Ozu never compromises which makes it more powerful. I found every character to be perfectly human, this was an unforgettable film, a masterpiece.

Equinox Flower: A more light hearted film and Ozu's first color film. It's about a stubborn businessman who disapproves of his daughter's fiance, but learns very slowly to accept the modern romance. The film follows the theme of the older generation's reluctance to accept the new changes of the younger. I found it to be a very in depth character study of the indecisive father, who never falls into the traps of stereotype but becomes very complex and human.

Late Autumn: A spin on Ozu's earlier film "Late Spring" this time it's a mother who must marry off her daughter. In an inspired casting decision Ozu cast Setsuko Hara (who played the daughter role in the earlier film) as the mother. The film is more on the lighter side thanks to the characters of three elderly business men who play matchmaker with the daughter, but it becomes poignantly sad at the end as the mother and daughter must leave the other behind to start a new life.

The End of Summer: A blending of comedy and tragedy, as three sisters must deal with their elderly father who is spending time with his old mistress. The film starts off as a soft hearted comical tale, but takes an unexpected turn. The ending is strong and poignant with a great summation about life and death and the cycle we all become a part of.

My Review of "Ratatoullie"

Definatley the best summer movie I've seen so far this year, and no surprise Pixar has hit another bulls eye visit here http://www.myspace.com/jeremyimnotedgar to visit my full review.