Mini-Review: Linklater wasted no time. Here immediately is his penchant for a large cast of near-caricatures, drawn with bold outlines but colored with believability. He depicts them honestly, making no excuse for their naive and immature flaws, but with love and sympathy. It's comedic, pensive, quirky, and treats its own bit of pretentiousness with self-aware irony. A film for the young and young-at-heart.
Mini-Review: A strange and unique film, eschewing traditional plot devices for an ambiguous, amorphous pattern of pure behavior and emotion. Not that there aren't plenty of other dreamlike films out there, and in particular comparisons to Bergman seem relevant, but this is achieved with Altman's original brand of stylized naturalism. The performances are fantastic, with Duvall and Spacek playing out some sort of sinister mother/daughter, quasi-lesbian infatuation.
Mini-Review: Despite apparent budget problems and a messy post-production, this is an engaging mystery. The photography stands out immediately with baroque, gothic qualities worthy of film noir. Unfortunate that Arden is limp in the lead, but Welles compensates with his own dominating presence as the mythical Arkadin character. I like the parallels drawn in J Hoberman's essay on the film, in which he compares the Arkadin character to Welles as director, enticing the viewer into a cinematic labyrinth.
Mini-Review: Nakagawa doesn't mind leaving incomplete questions in this nightmarish and free-associative fever dream. Why is the essentially innocent Shiro condemned? Who or what is the strange Mephistophelean character Tamura? What sets all these people, some guilty and some innocent, on the path to Hell? An uncompromising and unrepentant achievement, not only for its notorious orgy of gore and dread, but for Nakagawa's refusal to portend logic and reason to questions unable to be answered.
Mini-Review: An interesting break in character for Keaton, in which he plays a thieving, murdering, womanizing villain, though of course he's as buffoonish and clumsy as ever. It's got a memorable setting, and the ending is a nice meta-twist. Hilarious, and possibly my favorite of all his shorts, even if it is incomplete.
Mini-Review: An indictment of puritanical and imperialistic ideology, an insightful understanding of the German post-war condition, and a depiction of American G.I.s as less than saintly. I'm sure this ruffled some feathers, even more so that Billy Wilder had the audacity to treat it comically. The three leads, entangled in a love triangle that is simultaneously tense and funny, turn out to be more complex than first let on. Marlene Dietrich in particular is outstanding.
Mini-Review: A film that holds immense power over me. Practical futurism offset by great imagination, elements of expressionism, the ambiguity of spiritualism, wonderment at space and all things beyond human capacity. Visual and aural euphoria; a feast for the senses full of memorable and iconic moments to stimulate your brain and tingle your spine. It can be considered both chronicle of evolution and quest for God. The mythic centerpiece of Stanley Kubrick's filmography, and my own personal favorite movie.
Mini-Review: A very nihilistic case of misanthropy. Expressionist cinematography, the ominous toll of a church bell, a town seeping paranoia and the bitter people who inhabit it... this is among the bleakest of films noir, made before the French (and by extension anyone) formally had a grasp on the concept, resulting in a bit of alienation. Does it vilify the people for their mob mentality (Dr. Verzot's perspective), or does it embrace "necessary evils" (Dr. Germain's)? A little bit of both, maybe.
Mini-Review: Despite its crude production values, Shadows packs a decent dramatic punch. The acting is bad, but the characters project vitality. The camerawork and editing are sloppy, but Cassavetes displays an eye for interesting compositions. Its improvisational elements often feel like wasted time, but there is something pensive in its stray progression. Its rough edges give it a raw poignancy that helps me to appreciate this film, even if it is very simple and flawed.
Mini-Review: A mockery of old fashioned middle class values and behaviors. Swerving back and forth between reality and fantasy, the satire is simultaneously charming and wicked. Even with this humorous quality, though, the film is a surprisingly poignant depiction of restless and indecisive youth. Tom Courtenay is wonderful as the title character, bursting with effervescence but not without flaws and vulnerability.