NEW YORK MOVIE JOURNAL (Dec. 2015-Jan. 2016)

[Chris Knipp]

NEW YORK MOVIE JOURNAL (Dec. 2015-Jan. 2016)

Movies I will see ASOP, now showing in NYC:

The Big Short
The Danish Girl
James White
Mustang
Macbeth

Others from my wish list opening before the end of the year:

Beasts of No Nation--on Netflix now
Opening Dec. 23:
45 Years
Opening on Christmas Day:
The Hateful Eight
Joy
The Revenant
Opening Dec. 30:
Anomalisa

I will seek to provide at least thumbnail reviews of all these over the holidays. And some others.

Also will see:

The Look of Silence -- I skipped this screening
Rams (opening Feb. 3) -- this screening was cancelled
Film Forum revivals:
Ball of Fire
The Chimes at Midnight
Richard III (Olivier)
MoMA revival:
I Knew Her Well/Io la consoscevo bene

[Chris Knipp]

THE DANISH GIRL (Tom Hooper 2015). Starring Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, with Ben Whishaw and Matthias Schoenaerts, this is a not-too-literal depiction of the life of early male-to-female sex change person Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe (played by Redmayne in another Oscar-bid role after playing Stephen Hawking last year). This is a sensitive, beautiful film, and Eddie is sensitive and beautiful in it. It will be an inspiration to trans people, though they have some complaints, like having a non-trans person play Einar/Lili. A criticism from others including me is that it doesn't show the hard parts and the ugly parts of its story enough. The scenes, with their plethora of Art Deco decor, often symmetrically framed, at a distance, are heavy on the aesthetic. Watched at Regal Union Square 13 Dec. 2015.




THE BIG SHORT (Adam McKay 2015). Another movie about the financial meltdown, this time from the POV of smart, cynical investors who anticipated it and, sometimes unwillingly, bet on it and when their prophesy of doom came true, won big. This is an instructional comedy, if that is not an oxymoron: critics have pointed out that satire ought not to be scolding and finger-wagging, and this is. It also addresses the audience frequently and has novelty celebrity instructional cameos (Anthony Bourdain, Margot Robbie, Selena Gomez). If these seem to you hilarious and you loved McKay's feature debut Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, this busy, wacky, semi-documentary movie might seem to justify the raves (MetaCritic 82%). Featuring Christian Bale as the oddball who starts the big-shorting, with Ryan Gosling as an ambitious prick, and Brad Pitt as a disillusioned insider. Steve Carell does most of the heavy lifting articulating all the disgust and anger as he discovers the extent of the greed, criminality, and stupidity fueling the crisis. Being pretty technical, this is really boring to some people and I like Todd McCarthy found it repetitive and unfunny, and partly just a reminder of how much better Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street was, or the intelligent, straightforward doc Inside Job (Charles Ferguson NYFF 2010); or the close look at Florida's real estate meltdown this year in Ramin Bahrani's 99 Homes. There is a lot of information in this, and it's been called with reason "The Wolf of Wall Street with a conscience," but I still don't get the raves; they must find McKay's mix of genres really original. Watched at Regal Union Square 13 Dec. 2015.

[Chris Knipp]

MUSTANG (DANIZ GAMZE ERGÜVEN 2015. Ergüven was born in Turkey but grew up and was educated in France, graduated from the film school La Fémis in 2008; she collaborated with French director Alice Wincour (Augustine, R-V 2013) on the scenario of this first feature about five young sisters in rural Turkey orphaned ten years earlier who revolt against repression to different degrees and with different results, some conventional, some shocking. A "mustang" is a wild horse, and that may refer to the sisters, but it applies to the film itself. The handheld camera; the jumps from one scene to another without explanation. The actors are non-professional, and seem out of control -- but that's the effect Ergüven seems to want, both from the repressive uncle and grandmother and the sisters. Events seem both unpredictable and preordained. There is tremendous life here -- the girls interact so naturally and freely. I wish particularly at this time there might be a picture of the more civilized and sophisticated side of the Muslim world; but then, repression of women is a big current issue. Introduced at Cannes; now the French entry for the 2016 Best Foreign Oscar. At IFC Center NYC 14 Dec. 2015.

[Chris Knipp]

LIFE (Anton Corbijn 2015). A touching, elegant little film about the memorable encounter of Dennis Sotck, the Magnum photographer, with James Dean, who had just finished Eaast of Eden and was on the cusp of fame. Stock and Dean were in a sense both struggling to establish themselves as artists. Stock recognized Dean's extraordinary talent and thought a photo story abut him for Life Magazine might make them both famous. Stock had difficulty accomplishing this, his ideas not accepted by his Magnum boss, his sketchy career, an estranged wife and neglected little boy; Dean had difficulties of his own with the studio's need to manipulate his image. Somehow they went to the farm in Indiana where Dean grew up, and the legendary Life photo story resulted. The brief friendship followed Stock all his life and long, successful career. He made many great photos, none so memorable as these. Dean was dead in seven months. Anton Corbijn is first and foremost a photographer, and was the man to make this movie. Dane DeHaan isn't as handsome or striking as Dean, but he is a terrific actor. It's like catching lightening in a bottle. But it has some memorable moments. Robert Pattinson plays Stock. Watched in VOD (Amazon) 14 Dec. 2015.

[Chris Knipp]

French poster for the film

LOUDER THAN BOMBS (Joachim Trier 2015) A family - father and two sons - struggle to deal with the death of the wife and mother, a war photographer who committed suicide but the youngest doesn't know that yet. A deliberately disjointed film with dreams, flashbacks, and entries into different consciousnesses, this doesn't work as well or seem as authentic as Trier's excellent first two films, and the artificial setup and switch to English language are reasons. Still, fascinating to watch because he and his co-writer/collaborator are so thoughtful and smart. With Gabriel Byrne, Jesse Eisenberg, Isabelle Huppert, and newcomer Devon Druid, along with Amy Ryan, David Strathairn, and others. It was released in Paris after the attacks and retitled Back Home. Opens in the US in late March/early April (released by The Orchard). Full review coming then. At Magno2 Screening Room, Seventh Ave. 15 Dec. 2015.

[Chris Knipp]

BALLS OF FIRE (Howard Hawks 1941). A revival of the 1941 comedy about naive scholars working on an encyclopedia under the leadership of Gary Cooper, who are entranced by accidental involvement with gangster moll and cafe singer Barbara Stanwyck, who helps Cooper with words for the encyclopedia's article on slang. Silly and funny, and just the thing Americans wanted as the country entered the War. Coauthored by Billy Wilder. Preview screening at Film Forum, 16 Dec. 2015 for 25-31 Dec. run.



LEGEND (Brian Helgelund 2015). A dramatization of the grizzly careers in the Fifties and Sixties of twin London gangsters Reggie and Ron Kray, this movie is nasty, violent, and dull. The only reason for watching it is for the, as usual, remarkable performance(s) of Tom Hardy, this time in the roles of both brothers whom, of course, he neatly distinguishes and delineates. At Regal Union Square 16 Dec. 2015.



45 YEARS (Andrew Haigh 2015). A sudden discovery of the body of an old lover frozen in ice for 50 years disturbs the equilibrium of a 45-year marriage between an English couple retired in Norfolk, northeast coast. Adapted from a short story by David Constantine based on an actual event. Perceptive writing by Haigh, whose first film also dealt acutely with a relationship, though of a young gay couple just starting out, and superb acting by Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, who won Silver Bears for their performances at the Berlinale, make this one of the year's best films. Opening 23 Dec. At Magno2 Screening Room 16 Dec. 2015.

[Chris Knipp]

FALSTAFF: CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT (Orson welles 1965). Welles integrated elements from Shakespeare's plays that include Falstaff, The Merry Wifes of Windsor, Henry IV Parts One and Two, Richard II and Henry V and assembled a cast that includes, among others, himself as Falstaff, John Guilgud as Henry IV, Margaret Rutherford as Mistress Quickly, Jeanne Moreau as Doll Tearsheet, and Ralph Richardson reading excerpts of Holinshed's Chronicles by way of narration. Striking black and white photography, including the remarkably staged Battle of Shrewsbury; some images evocative of Eisenstein. A full restoration by Janus Films, this looks immaculate. A classic. Screened 17 Dec. 2015 at Film Forum where it will run 1-12 Jan. 2016 as part of Film Forum's three-week Stratford on Houston festival commemorating the 400th anniversary of the bard's death.

[Chris Knipp]

JAMES WHITE (Josh Mond 2015). A super-intense trip through five months of the life of a twenty-something New York City young man whose life is a mess while he must deal with the death of his long estranged father and the fatal illness of his mother, who raised him by herself. With some periods of heavy-duty partying in between, "retreating" into a "self-destructive, hedonistic lifestyle" that makes him at least for now wholly unemployable, he yet manages to be present for his mother and so, in a sense, for himself, in her very last days. The movie belongs primarily to Christopher Abbot, in a go-for-broke performance as James White, with disturbingly realistic dying act by Cynthia Nixon as his mother, Gail White, and able assistance from Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi)as James's cool best friend Nick. First-timer Mond has settled for crafting a powerful picture of life moment-to-moment, not delving into the protagonist's psyche or telling us how he got here. This movie is convincing and involving without being enlightening or satisfying; yet it's still a strong debut for Mond. At Landmark Sunshine 18 Dec. 2015. (It opened 13 Nov.)




I KNEW HER WELL/IO LA CONOSCEVO BENE (Antinio Pietrangeli 1965). The star of this cautionary tale, the director's last before his death in an accident at 49, is Stafania Sandrelli. She was only 19, yet this was her eleventh film. She is Adriana Astarelli, a country girl who comes to Rome to become a movie star and goes through a series of little jobs that improve but lead only to her humiliation. Like Stefania, Andriana has been in a beauty contest; unlike her, she never gets to be in a real movie. This is a fascinating, surreal film, but Pietrangeli's amalgam of Sixties Italian comedy, neorealism, and pessimistic social commentary doesn't seem to work very well: we're expected to perceive Adriana as alternately comically air headed, tough and resilient, and tragic, but without seeing into her head enough to understand how all these qualities coexist. The editing looks very rough at times. The film is a jerky series of short scenes, tableaux more than links in a narrative chain (wherein Adriana goes through various paces -- and men), emphasizing spectacle over character development. Pientrangeli's clout shows in the inclusion of stars like Jean-Claude Brialy, Nino Manfredi, Ugo Tognozzi, and Franco Nero. Even though the lowliest socially, (Nero), a garage mechanic, loves her best -- the failure to distinguish social levels is a missed opportunity. The young men are just generically handsome. Part of a retrospective curated by Dave Kehr, adjunct curator at MoMA, and Camilla Cormanni and Paola Ruggiero of Luce Cinecittà. Kristen M. Jones provided a survey of the series in the WSJ. At MoMA 18 Dec. 2015. This will have a run at Film Forum starting 5 Feb. 2016.

[Chris Knipp]

MACBETH (Justin Kurzel 2015). A version that is violent and more visual than verbal, fatal for a Shakespeare adaptation, which must make sense of the text. This is a Macbeth with a glamorous couple (Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard) who, as directed, don't have that much chemistry. And Kurzel chooses to have everyone speak with a Scottish accent, some authentic enough so you can't understand, while the others speak v.e.r.r.r.y.. . . s.l.o.w.y. . . in deep whispers, so what they're saying is lost. It's Shakespeare on Quaaludes. But bloody. Opened limited 3 Dec. wide 11 Dec. At Landmark Sunshine 19 Dec. 2015.

[Chris Knipp]

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (J.J. Abrams 2015). Abrams "awakens" the space opera with reliable elements including a new Amazonian young Brit woman and a new robust young black man, wisely bringing back old favorites, the original Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia. Plus the adorable robotic critters and Han's furry-faced copilot, Chewbacca. Non-stop action never gets in the way of humanness and the importance of hugs. It is a welcome and too-rare shared experience to sit in a packed theater where the audience actually applauds when favorite actors come on, like in a live play. US and world release 18 Dec. 2015. At Regal Union Square 20 Dec.



THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES (Michael Winterbottom 2015). The witty, smart British comic Russell Brand has turned himself into an acute political advocate and commentator and in this documentary by Michael Winterbottom he focuses on neoliberalism, class disparities, and increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of the 1%, which he mainly traces back to 1980 when Thatcher and Reagan took power. He focuses particularly on how bankers caused the great crash and were rewarded not punished for it, giving themselves ever more astronomical bonuses. Offshore tax shelters are wrecking society and the majority grow poorer. Sequences where Brand tries to gain access to various overpaid corporate czars owe a little too much to early Michael Moore, but there is a lot of good information plus many interviews with distressed UK working class people. Brand's flamboyant style is not much known or understood in the US, hence this film will have little impact and has not been well reviewed. The picture he paints is a depressing one. I have a lot of time for Brand and think he's on the right track. US release 16 Dec. 2015. At IFC Center 20 Dec.

[Chris Knipp]

CHI-RAQ (Spike Lee 2015). It's okay to say as Ignatiy Vishnevetsky does on AV Club that this adaptation of Aristophanes' Lysistrata, to black women withholding sex to get guns out of the ghetto of Chicago was "a fumble worth making," but it's still thoroughly misguided, repetitious and boring. Samuel L. Jackson is brought in to give the story a ceremonial flavor. John Cusack as the ghetto pastor delivers a sermon against the NRA. There are occasional unmemorable musical numbers, and most of the dialogue is rhymed. But why is so little use made of hip hop flavor, and why didn't Lee stick to New York, which he knows, and avoid Chicago, which he hasn't a clue about? Teyonah Parris, Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, and Jennifer Hudson also work hard but are wasted. Full of contemporary references, though. And yes, Spike Lee cares. Opened 4 DEc. 2015. At Angelika Film Center 21 Dec. 2015.

[Chris Knipp]

BEASTS OF NO NATION (Cary Joji Fukunaga 2015). From the eponymous novel, shot in coastal Ghana, the best child soldier film so far and strongest work by Fukunaga (Sin Nombre, Jane Eyre, "True Detective" first season). Stunning performances by Idris Elba as the Commandant and 14-year-old Abraham Attah as Agu, the narrator who loses his family and is drafted into a rebel army and made a trained killer. Fukunaga wrote the adaptation, directed, and due to an injury became the cinematographer. The images are remarkable. A tough watch but fine, awards material. This is Netflix's international debut feature film, first shown at Venice. Opened 16 Oct. Also at a NYC theater. Watched online 22 Dec. 2015.

[Chris Knipp]

THE HATEFUL EIGHT (Quentin Tarantino 2015). A Western that's like an Agatha Christie mystery with an ultra-violent finale. It's a little weird that it's almost all talk in a single room and the N-word is sprinkled more than ever, but overall I liked it -- and the 70mm Roadshow version I saw, in 2.76:1 aspect ratio projected on 70mm film with original Ennio Morricone Overture and Intermission, was pretty hard to resist. Rich back stories, many references to movie tradition, wonderful use of actors. Samuel L. Jackson rules. QT knows how to deliver movie pleasure. At Village East 2nd show 7 pm Christmas Eve 2015. A young crowd most of whom could not possibly have seen Pulp Fiction when it first came out.



THE REVENANT (Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu 2015). The fun of last year's Birdman forgotten, Iñárritu is ultra serious again and out to impress us. See Leonardo DiCaprio's frontiersman/fur trapper/leader be mauled three times by a CGI bear, then get abandoned by Tom Hardy's bad guy in the snow and crawl back to life surviving in the wild and find revenge. Leo works really hard for his big paycheck (this movie cost $100 million more than any other Iñárritu movie), but this is almost purely a physical role for him. The harsh landscapes, Terrence Malick-esque style lensing and musing are impressive. But alas I did not believe any of it. It may be more successful than I know. At Regal Union Square noon Christmas Day 2015.

[Chris Knipp]

JOY (David O. Russell 2015). Jennifer Lawrence is luminous and plucky as a loose version of Joy Mangano, creator of the TV sales sensation the Miracle Mop. Édgar Ramirez, Robrrt De Niro, and Isabella Rossellini play supporting roles as Joy's nutty family and Bradley Cooper is on hand as the maestro of QVC. But there is no love, only a struggle to business success. Smoothly edited and fun to watch, and I was rooting for the mop from first to last, but this is thin compared to Russell's best work. At AMC Village 7 on 3rd Ave. 26 Dec. 2015.

[Chris Knipp]

POINT BREAK (Ericson Core 2015). This is a remake of the 1991 Katherine Bigelow classic about the surfer bank robbers, counter culture daredevils who rob banks in rubber Dead Presidents masks in the off season to finance their searches for the perfect wave. Patrick Swaze (in one of his cult roles) was Bodhi, their leader and guru, Keanu Reeves, in his own coolest and sexiest role, was Johnny Utah, the bold young FBI agent under Gary Busey who goes underground and falls for the illegal life and for Bodhi's gf Tyler Endicott (Lori Petty). Flea, James Le Gros, and Anthony Kiedis also appeared. Well, this was one of the most original and enjoyable thrillers of the Nineties, a springboard for the Furious franchise, proving Bigelow to be a brilliant action director with visual flare and a sense of humor. The new version with relative unknown Luke Bracey as Johnny Utah and Ray Winstone in Busey's role and Édgar Ramírez as Bodhi, quite loses the focus and point, switching to multiple outdoor challenges instead of just surfing and turning this into a pointlessly busy international extreme sports travelogue. Spectacular mountain set pieces don't make up for the loss of character development and hopelessly muddle the points of the original plotline that had so many sweet spots and classic lines. Released Christmas Day in 3D and 2D versions. Le Gros, who was one of the bank robbers, appears in a minor role. Opened Christmas Day. At Regal Union Square 29 Dec. 2015.