Rambling Film

This wraps up my first year of doing the Blind Spot Series! I'm so glad Ryan created this and I'm looking forward to next year's. What I knew going in: When I first published my list of the films I was going to be watching, many said to save this for December. So I knew it had a holiday theme. The story follows the sprawling Ekdahl family over the course of a few years. Most of the focus is on young children Alexander (Bertil Guve) and Fanny. (Pernilla Allwin) Their father suddenly passes away in the film's first act, and their mother Emilie (Ewa Froling) remarries a bishop Edvard (Jan Malmsjo) despite him giving her several red flags like his bare as a bone house and his request that she and her children move their with no possessions whatsoever. Spoiler alert: he turns out to be a super douche.  Igmar Bergman is still a director I'm new to. This was his 3rd film on my list, and it honestly felt so different from the other two I watched. I hate to say it...

What I knew going in: This was meant to be a companion piece of sorts to the insanely depressing Grave of the Fireflies. And I have a ton of memories of commercials for this movie when it was dubbed the first time back in 1998. I watched this movie with my three year old son. The film follows a family who moves to the country side and finds some friendly spirits in and around their house. Here's a breakdown of our experience. 5 minutes in - "Can we watch Ninja Turtles?" 10 minutes in - "Mommy, Ninja Turtles." 20 minutes in - "Ninja Turtles" Cat bus appears -  Kid: "...what?" Me: "See, that kitty is a bus!" Kid: "Kitties can't be buses!" Me: "Yes they can, see." Kid: "NO!" Me: *laughs at son's ridiculous response to the cat bus* Kid: "IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Then he got up and walked away so I finished this movie alone like a loser. Despite it not being his cup of t...

What I knew going in : Not much, only that when I asked for recommended Bergman films, this one came up frequently.  Igmar Bergman was the director I had in mind when I started my Blind Spot list. His films occupied 3 spots in my 2014 list, and 2 more in my preliminary 2015 one. This one was almost always recommended. Dr. Isak Borg (Victor Sjostrom) is a professor that's been isolated from nearly everyone for many years. He's on his way to a University to pick up an honorary award and decides last minute he's going to drive there. Along the way with his daughter in law, Marianne (Ingrid Thulin) and eventually a few other passengers (including Bergman favorite Bibi Andersson) he reminiscences about his life and comes to the realization that maybe he's been a little too distant. I kind of felt like this movie was a few beats away from being a road trip comedy. At least Bergman road trip comedy. Parts were amusing, other parts very ethereal. I think the pacing kin...

What I knew going in: Pretty much the entire movie, I just never sat down to watch it. Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is an advertising executive that ends up being mistaken for a possible spy named George Chaplin. Suddenly, people are trying to kill him, he gets accused of murder himself and has to go on the run to escape police and figure this all out. I like Cary Grant, and I hope I get to check out more of his movies. He had a lot of charisma. The film created an interesting story that continued to escalate, but at the same time felt kind of predictable. The film is also distractingly dated. Any scene involving a crowd of people (or just more people than the main characters) didn't feel organic and looked way too staged. Then there's those car scenes, but that's really nitpicking. I had a similar reaction to Citizen Kane. I felt like I was watching an important movie, but it really just wasn't my cup of tea. I'll stick with Hitch's horror movies. Grad...

What I knew going in: That this film spends the majority of the time in one room. I had a really strange experience while watching this film. There was the fact that I couldn't take my eyes off my computer screen while I was watching this. (It's on Netflix Instant right now) but at one point in the film, it starts raining, and I felt like I could actually smell it. Apparently it's possible to get TOO into a movie. Has that ever happened to anyone else? 12 Angry Men follows a jury as they deliberate over a murder charge. A young man from a troubled home as killed his father, and everyone except Juror #8 (Henry Fonda) thinks he's guilty. Now they must go over the facts and debate on whether or not that is the case. Like I said, this film was fascinating. I imagine it's hard to make a feature length film in one location and have it work every step of the way. I've seen films like this before, but none as good as this one. I can see why so many people speak...

What I knew going in: Nothing, really.  Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Leaud) is a schoolboy that's neglected by his parents. His mother seems to dislike him, his father is disinterested, his teacher has no patience for him. It's no wonder he gets bad grades and makes questionable decisions. Soon, he starts skipping school, sneaking in movies and stealing.  This is my first "French New Wave" film. I think it can be risky when you have a child lead, but Leaud did a wonderful job. I feel like Paris as a city really does enhance every film it's in. I found the parents in this film pretty insufferable, but it just made me sympathize with Antoine even more. (It's sad when the bed at the juvenile detention center looks more comfortable than the one he has at home)  I ended the film with the hope that he can turn everything around. Recommended: Yes Grade: B Memorable Quote: "They don't believe me when I tell the truth.." - Antoine...

What I knew going in: Alex and Josh love this film. There was one scene I instantly recognized.  This is my first Ingmar Bergman movie. My Bergy cherry is broken, I'm so proud. *tear* I have about 5 other movies of his in my Netflix queue, and two more on my Blind Spot, but that one is reserved for December. Alma (Bibi Andersson) is a nurse who's been charged with looking after Elizabet (Liv Ullman) an actress who has stopped speaking. She seems perfectly healthy, so Alma takes her to a colleague's summer house to get away from it all. Alma pours her heart out to Elizabet, who doesn't respond, just listens. Eventually, the lines get blurred.  Wow. What the fuck? I feel like I have a million different theories about what I have just seen, but in a way, do any of them matter? Is there really a right or wrong here? Bergman just wanted to mess with people, right? The only things I'm sure of are that Andersson gave one of the best performances I've ever s...

What I knew going in: This was James Dean's second to last film. Jim Stark (James Dean) is a troubled young man that has moved around a lot in his life. Once he and his family settle in a new town, he makes friends with Plato (Sal Mineo) and becomes attracted to Judy. (Natalie Wood) Too bad her friends aren't as smitten with Jim as he is with her. An accident happens that changes this group of kids forever. Have you ever watched a film with a certain amount of expectations, then start to wonder if maybe you're watching it the wrong way once you realize you are having the polar opposite reaction that everyone else has had? That's kind of how I felt here. How was this movie nominated for Oscars? This is a joke, right? I'll get the good out of the way first. Wood and Mineo gave great performances. They were quite young when they filmed this, and they were solid. The story overall was solid too, despite all of the theatrics.  That's what threw me off here,...

What I knew going in: I recognized the man falling into the spiral image. Seriously.  What's kind of nice about most of the films on my Blind Spot list is that I haven't bothered to read the plot lines of some of them. I chose them all out of hear say. So when I got Vertigo in the mail and saw it's PG rating, that was a surprise. I didn't know what I was getting into. When we first meet Scottie, (James Stewart) a detective, he's running across the roof tops chasing a criminal with his partner. He slips and nearly falls off a building, he looks down, and vertigo hits. Turns out Scottie is petrified of heights. it doesn't help that the other police officer trying to save him falls to his death while doing it. When we see Scottie again, it's been some time since this highly publicized incident. He's retired now, and approached by an old college friend, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) who wants him to tail his wife. (Kim Novak) Vertigo is quite fascina...

What I knew going in : That many Marilyn fans say this film is their favorite of hers. Musicians Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) inadvertently witness the St Valentine's Day massacre and quickly try to leave town to avoid some mobsters from killing them as well. The only way out is to pose as women in a traveling band. They are "reborn" as Josephine and Daphne, they quickly befriend Sugar, (Marilyn Monroe) the naive singer in the band. They have trouble keeping their cover when Joe (out of disguise) tricks Sugar into thinking he's a millionaire and Jerry finds himself the object of a horny old perv's (Joe E. Brown) affection. Marilyn Monroe is just someone that never interested me. I don't idolize her like a lot of women I know do. When I took public speaking in college, someone used a quote from her in a speech, and the entire class got into an argument over whether she actually said that or not. Clearly, Miss Monroe evoked a lot of emotio...

This is my 2nd entry in Ryan McNeil of The Matinee's  2014 Blind Spot series . Here is my initial post. What I knew going in: I knew what Rosebud was, which turns out is a gigantic spoiler. Before the Dos Equis guy was the most interesting man in the world, Charles Kane (Orson Welles) was. He was a rich newspaper tycoon who has recently passed away. The last word he uttered was "rosebud." Since Kane was the hottest news item, a reporter named Jerry Thompson (William Alland) is assigned to figure how who 'Rosebud' is. We see him interview a few of Kane's old friends, colleagues, and wives. This movie came with high expectations. It's frequently called 'The greatest film of all time.' Or I've seen this reference 'This is the 'Citizen Kane' of blah blah blah.' I didn't even bother to read the synopsis of it before adding it to my Blind Spot list, I just knew I *had* to see this one.  Did it live up to those expect...

The movie Gods must be on my side, because right after I posted my list for Ryan McNeil's 2014 Blind Spot Series, the Sundance channel aired The Deer Hunter. How convenient. What I knew going in: 1) The fate of Christopher Walken's character. I didn't know when or where, but I knew it happened. 2) That Russian Roulette is the big theme. The Deer Hunter follows 3 men, Michael, (Robert DeNiro) Steve (John Savage) and Nick (Christopher Walken) who are about to leave for a tour in Vietnam. We spend the first hour of the film together getting to know these men and seeing Steve's wedding to Angela. (Rutanya Alda) We also meet various other people. Nick's girlfriend Linda, (Meryl Streep) whom Michael also seems to have feelings for. There's also their other friends/hunting buddies Stan and John (John Cazale, who was dying of cancer while filming this, so his frail frame was very upsetting and George Dzundza) The 2nd hour of the film has them being captured i...

Time to get on that classic film bandwagon, Brittani. For the past few years, Ryan McNeil over at The Matinee has been running a blogathon called The Blind Spot Series . Where he asks that you make a list of films that you haven't seen, but feel that you should. I'm going to stick with 12 like he suggests. One film a month. Mostly, I'm going to focus on the Classics, since I'm terrible at actually going back to the earlier stages of film. I'm calling this a "preliminary list" in case I have to change any of it due to not being able to get my hands on a DVD and what not. *EDIT It's now time to replace my side bar with my 2015 list, so I've updated this list with the letter grades I gave each film.* 1) Citizen Kane (C+) 2) Persona (A) 3) 12 Angry Men (A+) 4) North by Northwest (B-) 5) Vertigo (B) 6) Some Like It Hot (A) 7) Wild Strawberries (B-) 8) The Deer Hunter (A-) 9) My Neighbor Totoro (B) 10) The 4...