My Week In Film (12/1 - 12/7)

Expect something from me soon.

La Promesse (1996)
(Directed by Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne)

As I mentioned previously, I'm just really in love with their entire aesthetic. It's designed to capture human behavior in an almost perfect way. Like, we know it's thought out, but it feels very loose and real (which I think is important to me). Their films have a way of really getting close to their characters, not only physically (really close) but also emotionally. There are moments in this film that are nakedly emotional and yet it never becomes sentimental. The performances here are all fantastic with a naturalism that's beyond reproach. At the heart of the film lies a moral struggle which I find incredibly heartbreaking and it also manages to do this while depicting a character's realistic maturation from boy to man (or whatever) without dealing in cliches (except maybe the rejection of the father). blah blah blah. The Dardennes are awesome. I need to watch Rosetta like now.

★★★★

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
(Directed by Kevin Smith)

Definitely bad. But doesn't reach Clerks 2 levels of awfulness (thank the Lord!). And, yes, I'm looking at those early films with my Nostalgia Glasses on. I mean, it's sorta funny for a moment... but then it just isn't... Putting aside the fact that Smith is completely incompetent, there just isn't that much going on here. All the Justin Long stuff goes on forever. Yeah, it's funny you make a gay joke off him, okay, but do you really need to spend more than 1 minute with this guy instead of 5 or however that damn scene runs? I liked the idea of Zack sort of finding himself through Porn (or... making actual movies! Hi, Kevin!) but there wasn't enough of that stuff and it was just played as a sign of Zack's maturation or whatever. The supporting cast just wasn't that funny aside from a few quips and were mostly there... to... why were they there? I dunno. Plus it just goes way too heavy on the schmaltz although it does subvert that nicely with the final Mewes joke. Anyway, I'm kinda scared to revisit something like Chasing Amy now... (which is his best film by far). Maybe I never will.

★★

Let The Right One In (2008)
(Directed by Tomas Alfredson)

The Swedish Vampire flick. All the cinematography was pretty excellent but that's about where it stops for me. All the bullying stuff just felt extremely stupid and the way it escalates isn't entirely satisfying (although it does have a good payoff). I liked the puppy love aspect of it (along with the violence; felt good to be taken seriously) and at the end there's an almost 3-Iron thing going on where these two lonely souls find a way to be together sort of... I liked that. But, then there's the cat part... which is so stupid and horrible... and blah. There's nothing really wrong with this film. Nothing that's too obvious (except for a My Life as a Vampire kind of vibe; needs more farting and more monologues about death) anyway. I just feel extremely indifferent toward it. I guess I should see Twilight or something.

★★1/2

Jhon's Movie of the Week is... La Promesse