The Lives of Others

It is no secret that I like Soviet stuff. When I went to Prague I delighted in staying in the Stalinist Crowne Plaza hotel pictured above. I ignored Prague's pretty European stuff which my fellow travelers from the US were enjoying and went seeking out the brutalist Sov monuments. I also liked that movie Goodbye Lenin. I obviously suffer from some weird form of Ostalgie.

Fortunately there is a cure. The Lives of Others is a superb film about life under the Stasi. I will never be able to be quite so flip about communism again. I unreservedly recommend this movie. You should try and see it before there is a Hollywood remake.

Ratatouille

I’ve seen it and it’s great. No double entendres, no jokes specially for the adults, just a story. Paris looks beautiful, and so does the wet fur on the rats. Every time I watch a Hayao Miyazaki DVD I have to put up with seeing John Lasseter trying to pal it up with Miyazaki, but Brad Bird is the true genius at Pixar. All three of his films are great. Plus he is the voice of Edna Mode.

Nochnoy Dozor (Night Watch)

Great vampire movie that is the biggest ever Russian movie. Many have complained that the plot is hard to follow, but they just weren't paying enough attention, or perhaps they want to be spoonfed. In the New York Times this week there is a quite interesting article on horror movies which sums up this problem:

When it comes to horror, Danny was saying, Americans crave explanation. “Every detail has to be logical. Why is the ghost flying? Why is the ghost walking? Why does the ghost attack that guy and not the other guy? They keep asking.” He shook his head slightly in frustration. “This is a ghost movie,” Danny said. “Ghosts are already illogical.”

One surprising thing is the low body count. The subtitles are done in a clever way, they move around. Even the cheesy soundtrack works. I was charmed. Much recommended for fans of intelligent action films. And two sequels are on the way.

Munich

Steven Spielberg obviously has a lot of advantages when it comes to making a movie: he can choose the best scripts, the best cinematographers want to work with him. He is rich and successful, but he is still trying to make great movies. I think Munich is pretty good. It is political without lecturing. Some of the set pieces are amazing. There is a fantastic scene where the Israeli team is booked into the same safe house as a PLO team (who don't know the identity of the Israelis). There is a Mexican standoff, which is somehow defused.

This movie is so good to look, at, I was ashamed of my pathetic CRT based TV. Daniel Craig, the new James Bond, was quite a presence in a supporting role.

Bob le Flambeur

OK, so this film should be fantastic, this is another prototype gangster film, they're going to get the gang together for one last heist. I enjoyed Le Samourai from the same director. However the use of the fast forward button is usually a clue that something is not quite right. I seemed to lose interest when the trajectory of the film became inevitable. The last time this happened was with In a Lonely Place, hmm, maybe the 50's are a foreign country for me. I did like the look of Paris (or as we Yanks call it, Paris, France).

Bullitt

My sad attempts to reconnect with my childhood continue with a viewing of Bullitt (1968). This was filmed on location in San Francisco and sadder people than I have detailed explanations of where it was shot. I think the key element was realism, the hospital scenes (filmed on location at SF General) are great. But the best thing in the movie is the car chase. Obviously nowadays we have more complex car chases but this one, filmed on the streets of SF, is astonishingly realistic. I did notice the continuity mistake with the green volkswagon but I was on the edge of my seat as the cars crunch their way through (random parts of) the city. Steve McQueen is ace too. By modern standards it's all a little slow moving but the car chase is a classic. I almost forgot to mention a great score by Lalo Schifrin.

Three Lee Marvin films

Recently I have watched three Lee Marvin films: Seven Men from Now (1956), Point Blank (1967) and The Big Red One [restored edition] (1980). Lee Marvin was a good actor.

In Seven Men, a western, he is a villain, but his role is initially ambiguous. His granite face doesn't move much but his eyes make up for everything, expressing everything about his character. By the end I was rooting for him to survive, but instead he goes up against the sheriff one on one with inevitable consequences. This is a great movie, a gem of simplicity and style.

In Point Blank Lee Marvin is the protagonist in a John Boorman neo-noir thriller. The scenes at Alcatraz are great, and Angie Dickinson takes her clothes off (briefly). Even an amateur like me can see that this film was influential on a lot of 70's thrillers. One thing I liked is how people feel pain: a guy who Lee Marvin punches in the balls is rolling round in agony for ages. The Big Red One is a director's movie. Sam Fuller made a 270 minute version that was mercilessly cut, and it took 25 years for an unbutchered version to be released. It shows the war as a horror, and as a joke at the same time. I had always thought of Lee Marvin as a bit of a joke, but now I see he was a stylish actor. But you wouldn't want to mess with him.

Led Zeppelin DVD (a note from Sep 2003)

I have now watched all of the Led Zeppelin DVD and agree with Conor that it is pretty fab. The single best thing about DVD is the sound, you have to run your DVD player through a stereo system. The production values on this DVD are great, the sound is very clear. The selection of shows is great it shows several different stages in the band's evolution.

So why were Led Zep so great? First of all the sound is amazing. It seems clear that this is Jimmy Page's doing. Jimmy Page is obviously also an interesting guitarist. By the later shows (Madison Square Gardens) he has gone a bit loony and is wearing some wicked trousers. But he is only half of the best front line in rock. Robert Plant is amazing. Sooo sexy and inventive he is always fun to watch.

Poor John Paul Jones hardly appears. How much of this is modern editing (by Jimmy Page :-) ) and how much of it was done at the time is unclear. John Paul Jones definitely has the Ringo role, despite his musicianship and co-writing of some classics (like Kashmir).

And then John Bonham. Not as amazing a drummer as Keith Moon, he still has the best snare drum sound in history. Modern drummers (like Dave Grohl say) are better, but I am glad that Led Zep stopped when he died. Better that than what the Who did.

Summary: better even than the Police video where Sting wears the multi-coloured coat.

Rush - R30 (first disc only), your questions answered

Well what do you want to know?

How do they look?

Neil Peart (drums). Wears a hat so he must be balding. Never smiles. Does the same drumstick twirl reflexively. Appears to have at least one drum for every year he’s been playing.

Alex Lifeson (guitar). Looks like your average 55 year old dad.

Geddy Lee (bass, vocals). Looks great and jumps around. He must dye his hair.

Do they play 2112?

Yes, and they enjoy it too. Geddy Lee had a stuffed parrot on his shoulder and sang one verse about being “the pirates of the temple of Syrinx”

People playing air guitar?

Yes. It's in Frankfurt, need I say more?

Laser show?

Yes. Plus vaguely Monty Pythonish videos.

What did I learn?

Geddy Lee is the key to Rush’s sound. Like Chris Squire he is a bass player who leads a band.

How long is it?

You can get through it in under an hour if you use fast forward.

Some DVDs to watch

At one movie a week, how can I ever get through all these? I demand a moratorium on new films until I catch up.

New York Times critic's movies of the year

Manohla Dargis, A.O. Scott, Stephen Holden.