Dax Shepard‘s day-old interview with F1‘s Brad Pitt (they’re AA bros) is kinda jizz-whizzy and goofbally for the first six minutes.
Pitt to Shepard: “I’ve never had a gay experience — I kinda missed that window — but if I did, it wouldn’t be [with] you.”
Pitt “missed” the gay experience “window”?
…if news of Criterion’s teal-monster defacement of their Sorcerer 4K Bluray could somehow be communicated to Hurricane Billy’s afterlife realm.
Freidkin to Criterion: “How dare you….how fucking dare you saturate my 1977 masterpiece with grotesque teal-green tones…you don’t flood your Carnal Knowledge 4K with teal so why did you do it to Sorcerer?…do you understand that what you’ve done represents a form of evil? Do you even get that, fuckers, or are you oblivious?”
Friedkin-to-Criterion followup: “Do you guys know that Birds scene in the Bodega Bay diner when that hysterical mother says to Tippi Hedren, ‘Who are you?…what are you? I think you’re evil….EVIL!!’ You know that scene? Well, that mother is the Bluray-buying public, and you’re Tippi Hedren!”
It would be one thing if Mary Astor’s performance as femme fatale Brigid O’Shaughnessy in John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon (‘41)…it would be one thing if Astor had a scene in which she wore a steamy dragon-lady dress (the kind Myrna Loy occasionally wore in the early 1930s). But of course she never did. Warner Bros. marketers lied to the public! Spit right into their eyes!
No disrespect to the late James Horner, but I can’t remember a single note from his Braveheart score,, and I can only remember fragments of Braveheart itself.
I was nominally “impressed” by this 1995 Oscar winner (well-captured horseback battle sequences, blue face paint, “freedom!”) but I didn’t really like it all that much. Too fecking violent. That contorted expression on William Wallace’s face as he was being disemboweled by the British…thanks all the same.
It opened 30 years ago and I’ve never once re-watched it.
My first and only viewing was at a pre-opening Rod Lurie screening series in Burbank. Mel Gibson, whom I’d initially met during an Elaine’s press schmooze in ‘83, showed up for a post-screening q&a. He was wearing mandals, for God’s sake, and I was sitting near the front and silently muttering to myself that the sight of Gibson’s peds was…uhm, unwelcome. Any guy who wears mandals to any public event (even a neighbor’s backyard brunch) has earned a reputational stain that can never be washed off.
Composer James Horner bought it 10 years ago today in a private-plane accident, and I felt the pain of that trauma deep down. Like the crack of thunder. I’m sorry but his score for A Beautiful Mind was the greatest thing he ever composed and orchestrated. Closely followed, of course, by his Titanic score.
Iran has pussy-bombed a U.S. airbase near Doha, but where’s the big boom-boom-boom…where’s the light show? The target was Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military installation in the Middle East. Forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) — houses approximately 10,000 US troops. Here’s hoping U.S. casualties, if any, are minimal.
Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin‘s Splitsville (Neon, 8.22) screened oddly, remotely, curiously in Cannes last month. Blame Neon. Always programmed against some must-see competition film…get outta my life. Plus Covino and Marvin costar in it, and I’m telling you right now I don’t like relationship movies that costar funny-looking guys. I prefer slick, clever, handsome guys to be paired off with…okay, not necessarily super-hot but at least moderately hot women.
N.Y. Times staffers are in the process of posting their roster of the 100 finest films of the 21st Century.
For comparison’s sake, HE is hereby re-posting its own grand list of the 163 best films of the century. Yes, that’s right…one-six-three.
HE’s list is all broken up into sections. It over-emphasizes certain years and under-counts others…a mess. But at least it’s comprehensive.
And unlike the Times list, HE’s films have been chosen without the slightest regard for woke bonafides..…no attention yea or nay paid to sex, race, identity, LGBTQ or trans credentials. Measured solely by cinematic chops, emotional wholeness, unity, vigor, reach, poetic simplicity, etc.
42 Best of the First Decade (’00 to ’09): Zodiac, Memento, Traffic, Amores perros, United 93, Children of Men, Adaptation, City of God, The Pianist, The Lives of Others, Sexy Beast, Avatar, There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton, Almost Famous (the “Untitled” DVD director’s cut), 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Collateral, Dancer in the Dark, A Serious Man, Girlfight, The Departed, Babel, Ghost World, In the Bedroom, Talk to Her, Bloody Sunday, No Country For Old Men, The Quiet American, Whale Rider, Road to Perdition, Open Range, Touching the Void, Maria Full of Grace, Up In The Air, The Hurt Locker, Million Dollar Baby, The Motorcycle Diaries, An Education, Man on Wire, Revolutionary Road, Che and Volver. (42)
Best of 2010: The Social Network, The Fighter, Black Swan, Inside Job, Let Me In, A Prophet, Animal Kingdom, Rabbit Hole, The Tillman Story, Winter’s Bone (10).
Best of 2011 (ditto): A Separation, Moneyball, Drive, Contagion, X-Men: First Class, Attack the Block (6).
Best of 2012: Zero Dark Thirty, Silver Linings Playbook, Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Barbara, The Grey, Moonrise Kingdom. (7).
Best of 2013: The Wolf of Wall Street, 12 Years A Slave, Inside Llewyn Davis, Her, Dallas Buyers Club, Before Midnight, The Past, Frances Ha (8).
Best of 2014: Birdman, Citizen Four, Leviathan, Gone Girl, Boyhood, Locke, Wild Tales. (7)
Best of 2015: Spotlight, The Revenant; Mad Max: Fury Road; Beasts of No Nation; Love & Mercy, Son of Saul; Brooklyn; Carol, Everest, Ant-Man; The Big Short. (10)
Best of 2016 (So Far): Manchester By The Sea, A Bigger Splash, The Witch, Eye in the Sky, The Confirmation, The Invitation. (6)
Best of 2017: (1) Luca Guadagnino‘s Call Me My Your Name, (2) Chris Nolan‘s Dunkirk, (3) Greta Gerwig‘s Lady Bird, (4) Ruben Ostlund‘s The Square, (5) Matt Reeves‘ War For The Planet of the Apes, (6) Darren Aronofsky‘s mother!, (7) Michael Showalter’s The Big Sick, (8) Martin McDonagh‘s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, (9) Edgar Wright‘s Baby Driver, (10) Sean Baker‘s The Florida Project, (11) John Curran‘s Chappaquiddick, (12) Andrey Zvyagintsev‘s Loveless, (13) Guillermo del Toro‘s The Shape of Water, (14) David Lowery‘s A Ghost Story, (15) David Gordon Green‘s Stronger, (16) David Michod and Brad Pitt‘s War Machine, (18) Joseph Kosinski‘s Only The Brave, (19) Jordan Peele‘s Get Out and (20) Denis Villneuve‘s Blade Runner 2049.
Best of 2018: Tied for first place: Bjorn Runge‘s The Wife (Sony Pictures Classics, 8.17) and Paul Schrader‘s First Reformed; 3. Ari Aster‘s Hereditary; 4. Stefano Sollima‘s Sicario — Day of the Soldado; 5. Chris McQuarrie and Tom Cruise‘s Mission : Impossible — Fallout; 6. John Krasinski‘s A Quiet Place; 7. Eugene Jarecki‘s The King; 8. Alfonso Cuaron‘s Roma; 9. Peter Farrelly‘s Green Book; 10. Lynne Ramsay‘s You Were Never Really Here, 11. Tony Zierra‘s Filmworker, 12. Andrej Zvyagintsev‘s Loveless, 13. Jeremiah Zagar‘s We The Animals, 14. Tony Gilroy‘s Beirut, 16. Wes Anderson‘s Isle of Dogs; 16. Bo Burnham‘s Eighth Grade; 17. Morgan Neville‘s Won’t You Be My Neighbor; 18. Ryan Coogler‘s Black Panther; 19. Matt Tyrnauer‘s Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood; 20. Betsy West; Julie Cohen‘s RBG; 21. Spike Lee‘s BlackKKlansman; 22. Antoine Fuqua‘s The Equalizer 2; and 23. John Curran‘s Chappaquiddick.
Best of 2019 (16)
1. Martin Scorsese‘s The Irishman,
2. Todd Phillips‘ Joker,
3. Kent Jones‘ Diane / “All Hail Diane — 2019’s Best Film So Far“, filed on 3.27.19.
4. Lulu Wang‘s The Farewell / “The Farewell Is Among Year’s Best,” filed on 7.3.19.
5. Robert Eggers‘ The Lighthouse / “This Way Lies Madness,” filed on 5.19.19.
6. Craig Zahler‘s Dragged Across Concrete / “All Hail Dragged Across Concrete,” filed on 3.21.19.
7. FX’s Fosse/Verdon / Fosse/Verdon (Theatrical, Exquisite, Pizazzy, Deep Blue,” filed on 4.25.19.
8. A.J. Eaton and Cameron Crowe‘s David Crosby: Remember My Name / “Crosby Doc Hurts Real Good,” filed on 1.27.19.
9. Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood / “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood Is…‘, filed on 5.21.19.
10. Russo Brothers‘ Avengers: Endgame / “Okay With Nominating Endgame For Best Picture Oscar,” filed on 5.4.19.
11. Ari Aster‘s Midsommar / “Midsommar Inevitability,” filed on 6.25.19.
12. Martin Scorsese‘s Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story / “Rolling Along With Scorsese/Dylan” filed on 6.10.19.
13. Olivia Wilde‘s Booksmart / “This Time SXSW Hype Was Genuine“, filed on 4.25.19.
14. Celine Sciamma‘s Portrait of a Lady on Fire / “By my sights as close to perfect as a gently erotic, deeply passionate period drama could be,” excepted from “Midnight Panini,” filed on 5.21.19.
15. Dan Reed‘s Leaving Neverland / “After Tomorrow, Jackson’s Name Will Be Mud“, filed on 3.2.19.
16. Mads Brugger‘s Cold Case Hammarskjöld / “Riveting, Occasionally Oddball Cold Case”, posted on 1.29.19.
HE’s top films of the 2020-2025 period thus far: (1) Roman Polanski‘s J’Accuse (which premiered in Europe in late ’19 but wasn’t pirated for U.S. consumption until early ’20), (2) Sean Baker‘s Anora, (3) Joachim Trier‘s Sentimental Value, (4) Steven Zallian‘s Ripley, (5) Edward Berger‘s Conclave, (6) Steve McQueen‘s Mangrove, (7) David Fincher‘s The Killer, (8) Pedro Almodovar‘s Parallel Mothers, (9) Reinaldo Marcus Green‘s King Richard, (10) Tran Anh Hung‘s The Taste of Things (The Pot au Feu).
Second Grouping of Ten: (11) Guy Ritchie‘s The Covenant, (12) Joseph Kosinski‘s Top Gun: Maverick, (13) Hasan Hadi‘s The President’s Cake, (14) Janicza Bravo’s Zola, (15) Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, (16) Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, (17) Eva Victor’s Sorry Baby, (18) Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, (19) Bradley Cooper‘s Maestro, (20) Alexander Payne‘s The Holdovers.
Third Grouping of Ten: (21) Audrey Diwan‘s Happening, (22) Jasmila Žbanić‘s Quo Vadis, Aida?, (23) Errol Morris‘s The Pigeon Tunnel, (24) Ali Abbasi‘s The Apprentice, (25) Alice Rohrwacher‘s La Chimera, (26) Anders Thomas Jensen‘s Riders of Justice, (27) Jon Watts‘ Spider-Man: No Way Home, (28) Peter Jackson‘s The Beatles: Get Back, (29) Cristian Mungiu‘s R.M.N., (30) Todd Field‘s TAR.
Last Licks: (31) Alejandro G. Iñárritu‘s Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths; (32) Aaron Sorkin‘s The Trial of the Chicago 7, (33) Judd Apatow‘s The King of Staten Island, (34) Michael Winterbottom‘s The Trip to Greece, (35) Diao Yinan‘s The Wild Goose Lake, (36) Chloe Zhao‘s Nomadland, (37) Jon M. Chu‘s In The Heights, (38) Steven Spielberg‘s West Side Story.
Yesterday CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Clarissa Ward and Jeremy Diamond haul-assed into a bomb shelter after receiving a 10-minute warning of an incoming missile in Tel Aviv. Nobody wants any correspondents to suffer harm or trauma, but this segment pales in comparison with last week’s video of an Iranian TV news studio taking a hit. Not Hollywood enough, lacks dramatic force. Cooper is way too cool and composed. Obviously I’m kidding but still.
I’ve been a major Michael Shannon fan since 2008’s Revolutionary Road, and I really don’t want him to become Robert Duvall. All he has to do is visit my Prague hair guy (or a similar specialist in Istanbul) and he’ll be out of the woods. Why can’t he just hang on to what he’s had going all these years? Where’s the upside in losing his hairline? Imagine if Paul McCartney had begun to seriously lose hair follicles at age 50. or if the same had happened to Cary Grant. Bald McCartney or bald Grant would have destroyed their brands.
In this climactic scene from The Ugly American (’63), director George Englund‘s decision to cut to an overhead shot at the 4:05 mark — a shot that emphasizes the internal collapse of Marlon Brando‘s Harrison MacWhite character, the U.S. ambassador to the ficional Sarkhan, a stand-in for Vietnam — is the finest moment in an otherwise decent but dramatically plodding film.
Nonetheless The Ugly American, adapted by Stewart Stern and released seven months before JFK’s murder, when U.S. military assistance to Vietnam was relatively modest and restrained…here was a mainstream Universal release unambiguously stating that this country’s anti-Communist policy in Vietnam was largely based on ignorance and military bluster and doomed to fail.
Mostly shot on Universal sound stages, The Ugly American received mixed reviews and no Oscar nominations, and went belly-up at the box office. But it foretold the greatest Anerican foreign policy tragedy of the 20th Century.
