Belle de Jour

Year: 1967
Director: Luis Bunuel
Writer: Luis Bunuel, Joseph Kessel
Genre: Drama

My life has found itself full of work lately. I'm not complaining, but in the periods of exhaustion in between, there is little room for films. Watching surrealistic or feminist fare is too stimulating for a tired mind, although "typical" slashers also have been lacking in appear. Upon realizing I've seen barely anything this year, I blindly chose to watch Belle de Jour. The title had been on my list for a while, but had no clue of what to expect. As it turned out, this was the perfect decision on my part. I am completely enamored with the film.

As the story starts we are immediately drawn into a weird dual-reality. The lead character is a young woman married to her husband. Their chaste relationship draws on both of them in different ways, but we see only how she handles herself. All throughout the film, it is hard to determine what is real or imagined as she takes up a job in a brothel. Is she really even there or is this another elaborate fantasy? Are the fantasies real?

None of these questions are ever answered and that is part of the beauty of things. There are symbols, such as bells, which imply that those are her periods of dream, but who can be certain? I felt I could peg what was meant to be fantasy until later on when things became even harder to parse. The film is certainly not stodgy or overly complex though, just something very intriguing.

It's a rare film that makes me continue to look up information and interpretations of it after watching. Belle de Jour has done that for me and I would love to continue to read critical essays about it, or even eventually submit my own. This is an incredible film.

Frozen

Year: 2010
Director: Adam Green
Writer: Adam Green
Genre: Drama, Thriller

Frozen is not a movie I've been dying to see for a long time. In fact, it was something that only recently came across my radar. Apparently I missed out on it completely around it's arrival in 2010. Basically, the film is about a group of three twenty something young adults who are having a day out on a snowy mountain. Between two men and one women, the men are best friends, while one of the men is dating the woman.

So, they all spend an awkward day together skiing and snowboarding then are finally ready to come on home. When they do, they somehow manage to get stuck on the chair lift back down the mountain. They came on a Sunday and the mountain won't be open again until Friday....

That's all 30 minutes in or so. For basically the rest of the movie they are stuck in a very small location. I worried that the film wouldn't be able to carry itself just on character interaction. However, it managed to showcase these three real-seeming characters who I cared at least a little bit for. Their reactions to the situation they found themselves in was the most important thing though. It's what kept me interested. If people were in this situation you might expect them to react in some of these ways.

Of course, everything goes wrong at every turn. Although it wasn't overall a gory movie there were some really intense scenes. For the first time in a while, at one point I found myself having to only half watch a certain scene. It just got into me (probably because the situation was realistic enough). I was a bit annoyed by some of the stupidity of the characters but after watching hundreds of slashers it shouldn't be surprising.

Overall, I think Frozen shared a strong experience. It's not the best film ever, or even all that great, but it makes you wonder about what could happen in all our lives. If you're someone who regularly plays around in the mountains though I would suggest you stay far away as it would probably be an especially tough film to watch.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Year: 2011
Director: Stephen Daldry
Writer: Eric Roth, Jonathan Safran Foer
Genre: Drama

I never read the book which the film is adapted from. I've wanted to for years but just have never gotten around to it. I've heard from people who read the book that this film really destroys the powerful narrative of the novel. Because I've not read it I was at least able to view the film without a bias. However, that didn't make me like it.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close had the chance to be something quite special. Instead, it imploded on itself due to the highly unlikable main character. I understand that the boy Oscar is supposed to have Aspergers and that explains a bunch of his behavior. As I went in without knowing that though I could assume something was meant to be up, but that he was just a precious little ball of nerdiness. There's nothing wrong with that though, as I love nerds. In a way the main boy in Hugo was also a nerd because of his scientific and technical mind. But Oscar was not cute or lovable or wonderful. He was annoying.

All children have the ability to be annoying, not just ones with Aspergers. Tons of them are just madness and in a lot of ways these days when a child "acts out" or is "different" it seems they get medicated for something which may be nothing other than their personality. Anyway, that's obviously not the point here. I don't know much of anything about Oscar's condition so I can't pretend to tell whether he really showed all the signs. Probably so. Either way, my point is you can be a wild little child with highly unusual and interesting thoughts and be likeable and wonderful. I just didn't feel that way toward him whatsoever.

In the film it felt like he didn't have enough of a character. There were things ABOUT him that seemed to mean to make us care. Like his tambourine which he would shake to calm himself down. That's a lovely trait but it just felt globbed onto the character, not something actually special or wonderful about him. There were a lot of things that felt like they were simply placed around him to try to make a character.

Anyway, with the narrative very tightly focused on this child's attempting to deal with the trauma of 9/11 I was forced to endure his not-at-all charming antics. I couldn't stand him. It made the whole movie feel overplayed and trite, like a cornball TV movie. Also, I am not sure this child could really act. He was good at memorizing lines I guess and good at YELLING but that doesn't make someone a good actor. Oh well, he's young and had the guts to take a huge role. Props to him.

So yeah, there are some movies with detestable characters but stories that still wrap you right up into it all. I could never get past that point with Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close because the narrative just wasn't my cup of tea.

The Descendants

Year: 2011
Director: Alexander Payne
Writer: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon
Genre: Comedy, Drama

Why didn't this film win more awards? Simply put, it is far from an astonishing film. It is a good movie, but not even great. I'm not sure how it even managed to be up for Best Picture. Of course, I'm not quite sure how half the movies selected managed to make it up there (War Horse). That's not to say The Descendants is bad, because that's not the case either. Average is more like it.

I enjoyed watching The Descendants for one reason. I loved the two daughters. They were very real characters and their banter was wonderfully crude. Somehow even Clooney was outshined by these young actresses. It seems odd considering, but maybe the character he portrayed just wasn't lively enough. Maybe hen's not meant to be the important one. It's hard to tell sometimes.

The reason I think this film was nominated was for its plot. In it, annoyed, unconnected, and uncaring husband Matt suddenly is forced to re-evaluate his marriage when his wife is in a life-threatening accident. As a result, she ends up stuck in a coma from which she will never wake and the husband is forced to mull over the tough decision of whether or not she should be kept this way or let free to die. All this is played alongside Matt also having to decide who to give his massive share of Hawaiian land to because for some reason he is a descendant of some powerful people.

This is all some serious stuff but the movie plays everything off in a rather amusing fashion. The approach is certainly valid but to me at least it left things feeling less important. It's just a happy go lucky film with some dipping points. It is a very modern film with very modern jokes too and for that it feels weaker. Maybe that's just me though because I am more used to films which don't try so hard to plant themselves firmly in the moment.

Check the film out and see how it works for you. I enjoyed it I just don't see it being Oscar-worthy. Perhaps you'll view it differently.

The Help

Year: 2011
Director: Tate Taylor
Writer: Tate Taylor, Kathryn Stockett
Genre: Drama

I liked The Help. As a mostly comedy with dramatic asides, it has some strong characters and a lovely narrative. There is also a lot wrong with this film, in my eyes. Despite that though it still manages to be a wholly enthralling narrative that kept my attention all the way through. Also, I loved the character of Celia. Yes, I loved her enough to state that in my first paragraph.

Basically in the film you've got a young woman who seems to rebel against every norm in her world. She's not really interested in getting a man - she's getting a job! She's also not taken aback by the idea of African Americans being equal to everyone else. Whatever she drank really should have gotten into the bodies of the other gals, but of course, if it did then we wouldn't have a movie.

Anyway, it's a film about this journalist who wants to get the true stories from "the help", or maids. So she goes for it and slowly gains the trust of the women she wants to interview. It's quite entertaining most of the time, so I'm not sure why exactly it's tagged as a "drama" on IMDB.

There's nothing wrong with a movie having fun, even for a semi-period piece. It just feels kind of bad to watch because of how it seems to push aside the harsh realities of the time. It might have been the 60s but damn if that wasn't practically a world away from where we are now. It was an extremely turbulent period for civil rights and nearly completely glossing over that was a huge failing, in my opinion. Yes, there's are a handful of moments in the film which attempt to bring this reality home. It never quite reaches though. There's a point where a young black woman is beaten by an officer, but then the fear of the moment is quickly dissipated by a new scene filled with patented sass.

The points the film seem to make are filled with good intentions, but that doesn't mean the film itself is pure. To me the things it teaches are that African American maids really were living a mostly fine life. Oh sure, they couldn't even use the same toilets but other than that they just had so much fun gabbing with their friends and making fun of white ladies behind their back. Oh sure, their friends were getting beaten by those who are supposed to protect the town, but what does it really matter when you can bake a pie with poop in it and serve it to your old employer?

Despite the failings that I felt exist because of how it downplayed the reality of the situation, I still found myself captivated by the silly narrative. I laughed at many jokes and liked the ending. I felt the end was actually focused on a maid character, not the journalist, like many have said. It's a great film that you can watch as long as you turn off the analytical part of your brain.

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane

Year: 1973
Director: Nicolas Gessner
Writer: Laird Koenig
Genre: Drama, Horror

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane was an unexpected film to me. From just the title alone it conjures up images of the typical horror "scary little kid". That's not the case in this film at all and I think that may have played a part in me liking it more. Perhaps that trope has only really come to fruition in the more modern day. I'm not sure, actually, maybe that really found its footing in the 80s with modern spooky, not so much The Bad Seed but more The Brood.

So for this movie we're greeted with a young but very autonomous girl. She's just about 13 (or 14 as she sometimes claims) but acts much older. I found myself completely in awe of the character. She certainly looked the part of a young girl but seeing such maturity coming out of her really threw me for a loop. I enjoyed every moment she spoke.

We all know that something is odd about this girl though because of how she carries out various chores in the city. Nobody ever sees her parents around. It's quite the mystery, although it is solved not too far into the film. Still, seeing her try to hide the truth, as well as seeing how others react to it is a joy. It might be a dark joy, but it was all quite enjoyable.

It's safe to say I quite liked The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. It's not quite horror, and mostly some sort of building drama, but still a cool film. It also seems to have aged relatively well. I could see this movie existing today with little change.

The Crush

Year: 1993
Director: Alan Shapiro
Writer: Alan Shapiro
Genre: Drama

I don't know why I continue to subject myself to drama films. They often make me get that knot in my stomach but I'm stuck watching them anyway. So, The Crush is basically a sort of modernized Lolita. It's not exactly though since it's a whole new story going on but the ties are there. Obviously, a young girl attempts to seduce the lead character - that's a given.

Unlike Lolita though (from what little I remember) it feels a whole lot more sinister. The girl in question is 14, although much smarter than her peers, and is able to manipulate everyone around her. In a way, it felt like Poison Ivy with how secretly diabolical she is.

Beyond that though I didn't honestly care much for the movie. It's melodramatic and not so bad as a Lifetime movie but close enough. I never really felt engaged with the lead and those around him weren't very important either. Who cares if they die? So yeah, it's an acceptable way to spend your time but I'd look elsewhere. Or, if you really need some sort of hebephilic film might as well go with Lolita.

The Last Circus

Year: 2010
Director: Álex de la Iglesia
Writer: Álex de la Iglesia
Genre: Drama, Comedy

I came into this movie pretty cold. It was simply a suggestion and I only looked at the stars it scored before jumping in. The Last Circus is foreign film where a boy grows up quickly after his father is killed right before his eyes. He inherits the role of a clown just like his father before him and joins the circus. There he meets a girl and, predictably, starts to feel something for her.

From then on, things manage to take the worst turns possible and the movie ends up being one filled with bullets, bloodshed, and disfigurement. It's alright. I have a feeling this movie will or has already been on favorite film lists. It definitely has the stuff to be something special, but or me it was just filler.

I liked the story progression well enough but it just came out too dramatic for my tastes. What can you expect from a drama film but drama? It's an odd criticism coming from me too though since I loved the whacked out Fatal Attraction. That certainly never let up on the intense drama... Well, somehow The Last Circus didn't click with me.

Still, the movie is a neat little experience and will probably please some. Check it out if you're interested in some clown-related craziness.

Home Room

Year: 2002
Director: Paul F. Ryan
Writer: Paul F. Ryan
Genre: Drama

It is probably strange to say but I have quite an interest in school shootings. It is not some sort of crazy death-chasing thing but I am very curious about what kids may have to go through to end up taking such extreme actions. Or, I'm curious about what minds might be fundamentally damaged to lead to events like that. Then I am curious about how teenagers cope after having to live through it. As such, I've devoted a lot of time to watching movies on the subject matter over the years.

Home Room is a pretty good movie mostly because it takes a different angle on school shooting. A lot of films have bravely (or stupidly) attempted to share the stories of the ones who commit the crime. That's fine to do of course but in this film we are instead treated to how characters are dealing with it after the fact. It may be more powerful this way.

One preppy popular teen was grazed by a bullet and is now recovering in the hospital. Another girl, one who has been held back and is anything but preppy, is forced into spending time with her. If not, the principal would just hold her back another year. The two are extreme opposites but slowly bond - but they can't talk about "it". The two seem like nicely realistic characters and because of that I found myself bonding to both of them with ease.

I would have honestly liked there to be a bit more to the film. The characters had such a nice back and forth that there could have easily been a bit more scenes. As is though the film feels mostly perfect in execution. I think at a part near the end of the film it gets a little ham-fisted, but beyond that this is a film worth checking out if you're at all curious about the subject matter.

Enter the Void

Year: 2009
Director: Gaspar Noe
Writer: Gaspar Noe, Lucile Hadzihalilovic
Genre: Drama

I'm not really sure what I can say about Enter the Void. I wholly enjoyed my experience with it but I'm pretty sure everyone's mileage will vary. This was honestly my first film from this director (which is probably blasphemous to even say) but whatever. I've wanted to go and watch I Stand Alone and Irreversible for a while but it seems you need to be in a specific mood to enjoy them. As is, I don't think I've been in the right kind of mood yet for many months.

Anyway, onto Enter the Void. It starts us off in the world of a young man who's doing some drugs. Apparently he's a small-time dealer in Tokyo. Everything seems to be fine but when he goes to drop something off it turns out to be a sting operation. He's chased into the bathroom, shot, and killed. From there the movie really begins and we see his life leading up to this moment and what transpires because of it.

I thought it was a really cool film overall. I'm always a fan for neat cinematic effects and obviously a film about life, death, and drugs would have some cool visuals. It was very nice although I was worried I might have my first seizure during an almost two minute long sequence of a flashing white light. Either way, it was a pretty cool adventure, although not something I would probably watch when just feeling bored.

For one, it's over two hours long which may be too much of a time investment. It's also not an easy movie, necessarily. It feels harsh at times and you have to be at least a little dedicated to the world to enjoy it. Honestly, I don't know what to say other than it was pretty neat but not for everyone. Like, for me I was not a fan of the whole ending sequence for 2001: A Space Odyssey the first time but only because I was watching it for an assignment. Had I been given free run to discover the film on my own and watch on a quiet evening it would have been much more enjoyable.

Being John Malkovich

Year: 1999
Director: Spike Jonze
Writer: Charlie Kaufman
Genre: Comedy, Drama

For anyone who hasn't seen this movie yet, I suggest you do soon. In this post I desire to talk about elements of the movie which are spoilers so I certainly don't want to ruin any of that for you. Suffice it to say, the movie is a very odd romantic triangle, or maybe even a quadrangle, but probably just a triangle. While there are tons of movies like that out there not many of them approach the whole deal the way Being John Malkovich does.

The film starts us off with a very unusual couple. The woman is a caretaker of animals and the other is a puppeteer, at least he wishes to be. As there is no real interest in puppets in this day and age, he finally forces himself to get a not "dream" job, which is office work. However, at his office he discovers a small door behind a filing cabinet, goes inside, and is transported into the mind of a man - John Malkovich. Okay, from here on out is spoiler territory.

I really was confused by the idea of a portal to someone's mind just being in an office, but it's the reality of the movie. In a way, it reminds me a lot of magical realism, where everything is just up front no matter how crazy it may otherwise seem. It became very strange and almost disturbing when they abused their ability to have Malkovich as purely a vessel. I quickly got over that though as the actual Malkovich character drifted into the background as he was overrun by the main character and his wife.

I was mostly interested in the relationship between the leading man Craig, his wife Lotte, and the business partner Maxine. Through the proxy of Malkovich's body, Maxine falls for both Lotte and Craig. What most intrigued me was the point when Lotte realized why being in Malkovich pleased her so - that she felt the strong desire to be male. Whether this was a valid thought or mostly just one of her little flings is unknown, but it certainly seems true she loved Maxine. And of course, Maxine loved her... but through Malkovich. I don't know. I just really loved the weird genderplay and relationships going on. That, both the husband and wife would lust after the same woman certainly isn't the usual story in movies so I appreciated it.

Interestingly, none of these characters are really appealing. They all have their problems and all do terrible things at points in the film. Of course, in all actuality, Maxine is probably the worst by never really being a reliable person but both Craig and Lotte adore her all the same. Anyway, the characters are all generally screwed up but it was still an enjoyable movie. It's hard for me to say I usually like movies where every character is one you'd like to yell at to stop doing what they're doing.

So there's some brief thoughts on the film. I really love the weird love triangle and unusual story. I'll probably watch it again soon.

Eyes Wide Shut

Year: 1999
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick
Genre: Drama: Mystery

I wasn't sure what to expect when watching Eyes Wide Shut. At over 2 hours long I thought it must be some sort of twisted epic... some sort of exciting sensual ride which I would emerge confused from. What the movie actually is is a pretty straight forward dramatic mystery. While I'm sure it titillated and disturbed audiences to me it seemed a rather dull exercise. Or, perhaps a very grandiose attempt to tell a simple story.

That doesn't mean I don't like it. In Eyes Wide Shut the main character is having a nice married life with a young daughter. However, things change as one night she reveals how much she had desired to cheat on him once, but didn't. The thought festers in his mind as he obsesses on it throughout the day. He comes across an old friend of his who inadvertently lets him in on a very secretive party he will be at. For some reason, this becomes the main character's obsession - to break into this party.

From then on things get all mysterious and creepy about the party and what happens to those outsiders who infiltrate it. Personally I don't quite get what the point of the story was. It all comes to pass one way or another and we are left back in the very plain husband and wife world. What was the point of showing such grandiose things? Why all the decadence and secrecy for something which we will never truly know? Maybe that's the point of it, but it just seemed to end on a very dull note.

Still, the characters are compelling and I was drawn into seeing what would happen. It's an okay film but not really worth watching unless you're having a Kubrick-athon or have read the novella it was based off (Traumnovelle).

Monkey Shines

Year: 1998
Director: George A. Romero
Writer: George A. Romero
Genre: Horror: Drama, animal attack

Monkey Shines is a weird movie. It all starts out one day with the camera following a man who seems to have it all. He has a gorgeous girlfriend and pictures around his home of him winning what looks like marathon races all around. This man is in prime physical shape and seems to be heading places. On his morning job though his fate is changed when he is hit by a car which paralyzes most of his body.

Because he becomes so reliant on others, his brother sees it fit to get him a helper monkey, sort of like a seeing eye dog. The monkey is issued commands and does whatever he can to aid his human companion. The little capuchin is cute and things all seem to be looking up. But then people start turning up dead.

Honestly, the movie sounds like a big joke when being described. Somehow though it all feels rather believable and it's still easy to get sucked right into the wild situation. It is a bit annoying though how the film ends. I don't know, maybe I just don't like happy endings.

If you've ever wanted a pet monkey maybe this movie will make you think otherwise. I've always wondered why this certain type of monkey was banned from ownership in certain states and it would be laughable to think it was in any way due to this movie. There are probably other reasons, but with all the other crazy things that someone can own - why not a little monkey?

If you're in the mood for strange monkey/human interactions I'd recommend Altered States. It's kind of strange how similar the movies are for one base feature of them, but nothing else. Altered States is definitely the much weirder of the two films though, and not recommended if you don't like trippy things like 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Poison Ivy

Year: 1992
Director: Katt Shea
Writer: Andy Ruben, Katt Shea
Genre: Drama: Femme fatale

Recently, I was browsing around online and found an article interviewing Katt Shea. I'd no idea who she was prior but during the course of that interview I became very interested in her work. Right after finishing the article I widly searched online to discover and secure my own copies of the majority of her films. It seems kind of silly, really, to become the owner of movies that I really knew nothing about simply because an interview I read excited me. Either way, that's what I did. So slowly I am going through some of the films from Katt Shea's career.

Poison Ivy is about a loner rich girl and a trashy but sweet poor girl, basically. The two talk first in the school office and quickly find themselves liking each other. As the story progresses it seems that both of the girls benefit from their new found friendship. As things go on though, we start to see that the sweet poor girl Ivy may be hiding dubious intentions behind her beautifully placid face.

I like that this movie took a look at a relationship between two girls that seemed mostly casual - real. It's sort of the style that male directors will do when creating stories of boyhood adventures... It often feels more nostalgic than real. At first, I was getting that similar nostalgic feeling from Poison Ivy but it quickly grounded itself in a more real world. They weren't complete party animals or anything like that, but they sounded and acted like they were coming of age in the 90s.

The drama gets a little melodramatic, but I think that was the effect Shea was going for. It's not a completely real story. Even with believable and human characters they were all wrapped up in something supremely abnormal. It was pretty cool.

I didn't learn until recently that Poison Ivy was based off a story. Maybe the book was even more melodramatic than the film portrays it. There is also a series of Poison Ivy films that have come out over the years. I intend to watch the rest even if they aren't as nice. That right there should tell you that this was a good enough film for me.

Boxing Helena

Year: 1993
Director: Jennifer Chambers Lynch
Writer: Jennifer Chambers Lynch
Genre: Drama

If you've never seen Boxing Helena I will suggest you never do. That is, unless you're a fan of terrible films. Why would I make such an accusation? One simply needs to watch the film and will probably be left feeling much the same way. Let me elaborate.

First off, Jennifer Chambers Lynch is the daughter of David Lynch, which is quite a name to live up to. I'm not sure if she wanted to be a director or just wanted to try her hand at it. Certainly she probably had seen all her father's films and they must have left some sort of impression on her. I feel like Boxing Helena was her own attempt to create something unusual to leave a mark on American cinema-goers. I'm sure it left a mark, but not the predicted one.

The film takes us into the world of a man who is married but longs for another woman - Helena. Apparently he had only been romantic with her once but that was enough to have him obsessing and yearning way after the fact. Despite knowing better he invites her to a party just to "see her again" and things spiral quickly downward for everyone involved.

It's a weird movie but not in a Lynch way. It's weird for the plot which is very simple to comprehend but not understand. Why would people behave in such a way? Why would horrible acts be treated as great? And who on earth thought the ending (which I will not spoil) was clever in any way? It's weird, dumb, and cumbersome. This is all my opinion, of course, but I'd strongly advise from wasting time with it.

Heavenly Creatures

Year: 1994
Director: Peter Jackson
Writer: Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
Genre: Drama

Why did Peter Jackson ever leave his really cool style of films to pursue huge Hollywood ones? I guess I should be happy with it but after he created Bad Taste, Dead Alive/Braindead, and this I kind of wish he had never hit it big. Well, it's too late now!

Heavenly Creatures is a departure from Jackon's previous films. It's not a horror film but just a sort of interesting drama, romance, coming-of-age thing. The story focuses on two imaginative girls who create a whole world together. They create characters to inhabit their world and all the backstories that come with them. It's a pretty interesting look into youthful friendships.

The characters feel pretty damn real which is appreciated. Normally, it might seem odd that 14 or 15 year old girls would be creating such elaborate fantasy worlds together but it fits them. What especially interested me was the relationship between the girls. It seemed to be so true for a fiction narrative. I guess that's the sign of a good movie though.

Honestly, I can't really think of what to say. I really enjoyed the film and would watch it again if a friend was interested in it.

The House of Yes

Year: 1997
Director: Mark Waters
Writer: Wendy MacLeod, Mark Waters
Genre: Drama: Black Comedy

This is one strange movie. The story makes me wonder who would have ever come up with such a thing. Basically, a brother comes home to his sister with his fiance for a nice dinner. However, the sister happens to be mentally unstable and believes herself to be Jackie Kennedy. The bringing home of the fiance makes the sister completely lose it. It's weird.

I really enjoyed the film. It was just so unusual but never felt too far gone. That is, except for one climactic scene which just struck me as tremendously crazed. I suppose in the world of the characters though it had some degree of normalcy. That's something that was especially great about the film... The actors were very immersed in their roles and those who were supposed to be accustomed to the crazy seemed to be.

The background makes this a dramatic tale but it's very much a black comedy. All that happens is incredibly dark but somehow deeply hilarious. The situation is almost entirely implausible which lends itself well to nervous laughter. The "Jackie" character is incredibly well done as well. You watch her interactions with everyone and know something has to happen and it's tantalizing to wonder about.

I wholly recommend this movie to fans of black comedy and weird cinema. It won't appeal to a lot of people, but for some (like me) it is one hell of an hour and a half.

Following

Year: 1998
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Mystery, Drama

I'm starting to think I'm not a fan of Christopher Nolan. I'm sure that's blasphemous to say in the film community but I just can't get into his movies. He seems to really like nonlinear storytelling, which I suppose is fine, but I don't like how the eventual reveals are meant to be huge deals. I've seen Memento and Inception and didn't enjoy either of them. I'm sure that will lose me a few fans right there.

Honestly, I just don't find the point to these films. But this is not a discussion of those other movies this is a discussion of Following. I wasn't grabbed right at the start and never ended up getting grabbed. I had a bit of trouble distinguishing between characters. Because I did have this issue may mean that was purposeful and "significant" but I never caught on to the significance. I'm not a stupid movie-watcher by any means it just never clicked.

As for the story that was being told nothing really interesting seemed to be going on. I'm not really a fan of crime or mafia/gang drama as is so that may have been why. I liked the look of the film, at least. It was very attractively done in black and white. I'm not sure if that was necessary but I suppose it was an unusual noir tale.

So, fans of Memento would probably find a great film here. If not though, then feel free to skip right over this.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Year: 1994
Director: Stephan Elliot
Writer: Stephan Elliot
Genre: Comedy, Drama

Where do I start with Priscilla... Well, suffice to say I love it.

For a film from 1994 it's surprisingly candid and sweet for the subject matter. The story by the way focuses on a troop of crossdressers going cross country for a performance. Predictably, the story focuses around all the exciting events and people they come across on their journey. Sometimes the characters must face insult and injury but the main focal point of the movie is fun, fun, fun and having lots of it.

Movies about cross country journeys tend to be hit or miss with me. They can fall completely flat with stupid characters or come to life because of interactions. This film definitely got it all right and with a distinctly fabulous edge. I like that the characters are shown as being able to take care of themselves and with their heads screwed on straight. Again, for 1994 this is pretty solid.

The characters are campy but that's the whole point. It's great fun and still manages to have heart. I can't accurately convey how much fun I had with the film, but it was pretty great. It almost make me want to try out drag although I doubt I could ever be as cool as these characters.

Puppy

Year: 2005
Director: Kieran Galvin
Writer: Kieran Galvin
Genre: Drama: Black comedy

I'm not sure what it was that spurred me to watch Puppy. It was just sitting in a long line of streamable titles... Maybe it was the simple name that drew me in. Either way, it's an odd little film. The basic premise revolves around a woman who's life is falling apart at home. She's so damn unlucky and things keep piling up until she decides she can't take it anymore. Unfortunately, things become much worse when a man rescues her from a suicide attempt. The trouble with this lies with the fact that her savior believes she is his wife who had run away and may himself be dangerous.

The lead may have gotten herself out of one situation but then threw herself into a whole other can of worms. The setup got me hooked immediately because it was just so strange. I needed to see how they would work out together and how it would all end. That may also be reason enough for others to watch the film, but it won't interest everyone.

Puppy is darkly comedic. For the most part you are viewing unpleasant and maybe even scary scenes. However, the film is punctuated with pitch perfect bits of humor that made me laugh audibly. It may because of the overall tension of the film that made these small accents extra funny, but they work.

It's not a movie I would recommend but it is an interesting experience. I didn't feel my time was wasted while watching.