Man Bites Dog (1992)

Um, WOW! I can certainly can see why this movie is in the 1001 movies everyone should see before they die.  I literally just got done watching this movie and rather than wait and reflect on it for a bit I just have to blog about this while it's still fresh.

Man Bites Dog is a film that is set up around a documentary film crew that follows around a serial killer while he murders pretty much anyone he wants.  The sheer madness and complete disregard he has is something that at times is uneasy to watch.  I thought Dexter was scary, but this guy (Benoit) is beyond frightening. I don't want to give away too many details of this movie because I don't want to ruin any of the surprise or tension that this movie is exceptional at delivering.  While it is clumsy at times, the overall effect is pulled off with superb cut scenes of bodies being thrown into a quarry, etc, etc.  There is so much this film has to offer as long as you try not to take it too literal.  Yes, it does show him killing small children, women and the like...but I rather enjoyed this film as something I've never really seen before.  At times it's humorous and almost Monty Python-esque with the amount of blood splattering and dialogue.  So how twisted am I?

The film is subtitled and was filmed entirely in French and black and white.  So for those of you that don't enjoy reading while also watching a movie, this may not be for you.  This movie is an exceptional example of why I am thoroughly enjoying this task of watching the 1001 movies.  I never would have considered this movie otherwise and I am happy to have seen it.  So if you have Netflix and want to sit back and watch an insane amount of murder and mayhem that takes off at a running pace from the very opening scene, then add Man Bites Dog to your instant play queue...I'd be very interested to hear what people have to say regarding this movie.

Image Accessed on March 18th 2001 from: http://www.altfg.com/blog/film-reviews/man-bites-dog-poelvoorde-belvaux-bonzel/

Alphaville (1965)

Alphaville, considered to be one of Jean-Luc Godard's best films left me going "Huh?" long after the credits were finished.  Perhaps I am not smart enough to fully understand nor appreciate this film, but I will try my best to give a full, yet basic run down of the particulars while providing a few key things that I thoroughly enjoyed about this "classic".

The story centers around a man named Lemmy Caution ( I love this name) that is sent to investigate and dispose of a computer called Alpha 60 that controls free thought and eradicates individuals that oppose his supreme way of thinking in a town called Alphaville...how appropriate.  The story alone seems interesting enough to grab one's attention, but the pacing of the movie and the delivery of the lines made me want to pull out what little hair I have left.  One scene in particular left me so puzzled that a month after seeing this movie I still don't fully understand it.

Lemmy after arriving at his hotel room in Alphaville is greeted by a woman, of which I presume to be something of a prostitute that is sent to "assist" Lemmy with his needs. While in the room a seemingly random guy bursts inside and tries to kill Lemmy with a gun.  Being as casual as if brushing his teeth, Lemmy proceeds to fight this individual and kill him.  No fuss is made and no general discussion is brought to the forefront as to why the person would want to kill him in the first place.  The entire movie operates under this pace of antici...........pation, but never gets resolved nor explained.  There are more scenes that follow this same general pace and lack of understanding.  Most of the dialogue is so coded and existential that I felt stupid and left out of something that I desperately wanted to know, much like an inside joke. I imagine this film was made with an outlandish amount of metaphors strung throughout that are relevant for the time, but don't seem to enhance the film.  At least not for myself.

OK, enough of me bashing this film.  There were certainly a few things that I did enjoy, most of which was the set and the costuming of the characters.  This film came out in 1965 and the outfits, makeup, etc that everyone wears screams this time period.  There were no costumes that were particularly unusual, but just seeing how intricate the details were on each of them could provide someone not around in the 60's (like myself) an idea of what people used to wear then.  Perhaps the best thing in this movie were the closeups and cut scenes utilized throughout the film.  I just wish I could have understood what they were saying during these intense scenes.  The voice of the computer Alpha 60 is nothing short of amazing.  An incredibly deep, raspy, slow voice spoken entirely in French is enough to watch the film.  According to Wikipedia, the gentleman that played the voice for Alpha 60 was someone that had a mechanical voice box....interesting little factoid there if you can fully trust Wikipedia.  No similar information could be found on IMDB however.

This film is certainly not for the casual movie watcher, but if you enjoy obtuse and thick dialogue with spurts of absolutely bizarre situations then find yourself a copy of this movie and drink a Red Bull before watching...

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

Where do I begin with this movie? First off, I love a good musical and this movie provides everything one could ever hope for in one.  Extravagant sets, catchy songs, witty dialogue and amazing dance numbers with the joy of it being in Technicolor!  Do I think that this movie deserves to be on the 1001 movie list? Yes, indeed I do for sheer enjoyment and previous mentioned qualities. With that being said I'm not sure that the storyline is one to pass down along the ages.

At first glance the movie seems harmless enough, with a gentleman seeking to find a wife.  Once he does, they head back home only for the wife to find out that he lives with his 6 other brothers.  These 6 brothers are rather crass and testosterone levels run rampant amongst them and she sets it upon herself to tame the brothers.  One of the things she tasks them to do is a community barn raising. That's right, no typo there, a barn raising.

The barn raising scene is potentially one of the best dance numbers I have ever watched in a musical.  I can only imagine how much time it took to get the timing down for the 18 people involved in the dancing. It's nothing short of amazing and is worth seeing the movie just for this one particular dance number.

To make a long story short I will skip to the main problem I have regarding this movie.  After the barn raising the 6 brothers realize that the women they are interested in are already spoken for.  With this information they then plot to kidnap the girls in the dead of winter so that they will be stuck with them and thus render them incapable of being able to resist the charm of the brothers while being stranded until spring....Preposterous I know, but the movie still manages to charm the viewer and leave you with a sense of happiness, however messed up it may be that you enjoy the ending to the movie.

I do recommend that people see this movie if they are looking for a popcorn movie short on substance, but filled with dazzling colors and singable songs.  Makes it seem like I hated this movie, but I really did enjoy.  For these few people that read my blog I'd love to hear what you have to say.  Any thoughts?

Image Accessed on 3-13-11 from: http://alsolikelife.com/shooting/2009/06/973-115-seven-brides-for-seven-brothers-1954-stanley-donen/

I've returned!!

Well let me apologize for the 2 week hiatus first and foremost for those 3 people that read my blog. I've had a rather hectic past few weeks and want to reassure everyone that I am still actively working on the 1001 movie list. I hope to have my write up finished and posted tomorrow on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers by late evening.

Tonight my agenda however, is to eat some amazing Thai food at a restaurant called Thai Taste in Carbondale, IL and then hopefully go see a movie. I'm leaning toward watching Battle: Los Angeles. I'm a sucker for an alien invasion flick and will post my opinion on that tonight or tomorrow at the latest.

Hope everyone is getting out there or staying in to watch some movies. I've heard that Rango is very good and Red Riding Hood is dismal. Anyone seen these movies feel free to comment below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.