ACCESS HOLLYWOOD: Netflix

Netflix is one of the best things to happen to movies.  Ever.  Their mail-in service has the greatest selection of DVD's in history.  Literally any movie you can think of (outside of your own home movies) they have.  They're also stocked with thousands of television shows, both classic and contemporary.  Problem is, it's a mail-in service.  You can't watch movies on a whim with that.  They do, however offer an "instant" service--that is, the movies/shows stream directly (and instantly) to your television/computer/phone/tablet.  Due to copyright laws that I won't begin to pretend I understand, the instant service cannot offer the same quantity of films that it has access to through the traditional mail-in service.  Though the selection is limited, it is still full of gems.

Specific searches will generate a few movies from one director, say.  If you searched for "Woody Allen" you're not going to get Annie Hall.  You're not going to get  Midnight in Paris either.  What you will find are some of his lesser-known or less critically lauded films.  Like  Stardust Memories, or Shadows and Fog.  Because of this, Netflix is a great tool to fill in all the films you don't have easy access to.  Say you didn't listen to me and you went to a Redbox and you picked up Midnight in Paris or To Rome With Love and you loved them.  Now you can see what else Allen has to offer.

Or suppose you've gotten really adventurous and want to explore the French New Wave.  They might not have Godard's Breathless but they'll certainly have Rhomer's Seasons films.

General searches (like "Comedy" or "40's Dramas") will show you an eclectic spread of possible gateways to new film experiences.  You might find a new favorite director, or you might explore a genre you never thought you'd like.  The service is also loaded with documentaries if you're feeling particularly nerdy.

www.netflix.com

LET'S TALK ABOUT... The Graduate

"Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me."  Everyone who's seen the graduate talks about the sexy affair that Dustin Hoffman's character has with Mrs. Robinson, his father's business friend's wife.  Everyone has seen the famous still of her putting on a stocking, leg outstretched, Dustin Hoffman staring from the other end of the hotel room.  This movie skyrocketed Hoffman to stardom, created several hits by Simon and Garfunkel, and added more than a few new sentences to the lexicon ("Plastics!"), but I don't want to talk about any of that.

I want to talk about (what I think is) the most interesting theme in the movie: Isolation.

Mike Nichols sets up several scenes with shots of Dustin Hoffman's character shot through water, creating a physical barrier between the audience and the star of the film.

In this scene in particular, the isolation he feels from his family and his family's friends is exemplified not only by water, but through a door, and a mask.

 

In this scene, later in the film, not only does Nichols return to the pool tableau, but also uses camera angle to show the disconnect between Dustin Hoffman's character and his father.

ACCESS HOLLYWOOD: IMDb

Captain Obvious here: IMDb is the greatest film directory on the internet.  For a film buff, it's the best thing that ever happened...other than film of course.

If you haven't lived under a rock for the last twenty years, you can skip this post.  If you've never heard of IMDb, or simply don't know how much it has to offer, try not to feel too ashamed and read on.

IMDb stands for Internet Movie Database.  Practically everything that's ever been put on film short of your home videos is organized and accounted for on this site.  They've got pages for movies, actors, directors, composers, editors, production designers, cinematographers, casting directors, screenwriters--it's exhausting just talking about it--and they're all interlinked!  You want to know what year Ben Hur was made in?  Type it in and it will not only tell you when it was made, it will tell you when it was released, who was in it, who directed it, cast it, scored it, shot it--you name it its there.  Then there are fun bonuses like a list of awards it was nominated for/won, trivia facts about the movie or the making of the movie, and so much more.

The main page will fill you in on box office results, actors birthdays, trivia, quote's of the day, Best Of lists, breaking entertainment news, and a whole bunch of other goodies.

I can't stress enough how important a tool this website is for an aspiring film snob.  It's the lifeblood of all film information.

Use it.

www.imdb.com

SPOTLIGHT: Wes Anderson

It's not all about the old films.

The art form is alive and well, I assure you.

This week's spotlight is on a current, young, exciting director/writer: Wes Anderson.

Wes Anderson is one of the best things going. His eye for detail and consistency of style aside, his movies have real heart.  Like most great artists, his films share certain themes, and like most great directors, he has no qualms about stabbing at the same subjects in an effort to find new meanings and insights in them.  This is a quality he shares with Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Francois Truffaut, and many others.  His career has been relatively short, yielding only seven films to date, but I can say with complete confidence that I have fallen in love with every one of them. 

I would suggest starting with The Royal Tenenbaums (check out its IMDB page here).

The Royal Tenenbaums is easily Anderson's most recognizable film.  It's frequently played on television, people dress up as Luke Wilson's character for Halloween, it's got an ensemble A-list cast, and it earned an Oscar nomination for writing.  This film really showcases Anderson's dollhouse-like set design, unique and instantly recognizable directing style, and a familiar estranged family theme.

It's also one of the most simultaneously funny and heartbreaking films you'll see.

I'd suggest other films by name, but like I said, he only has seven and they're all spectacular.  The only one that might be difficult to appreciate is his first film, Bottle Rocket.  I'd save that one for last. It's not that it's a bad film--far from it.  It's just not his best.

Check out his page on IMDB, then Netflix the hell out of his discography (mail service only.)

ACCESS HOLLYWOOD: My Beef with the Box

I’ve already hinted at my disdain for Redbox, but I think I need to rant for a minute anyway.

There used to be these magical places—roofed places, with walls and doors and heat and air conditioning—where you could walk around and browse movies to your heart’s desire.   You could actually say to yourself or your spouse or your girlfriend or buddies, “Hey!  Let’s watch Ace Ventura: Pet Detective tonight!” then go to this place and rent it for a small fee, and bring it back three-to-five days later depending on policy. 

You didn’t have to wait in a line in the rain/snow/wind/sweltering heat. 

You didn’t have to feel guilty for making others wait while you painstakingly selected a movie for the night.

You didn’t have to deal with a machine.

There were people with (sometimes) valid opinions on movies who could take you to the one you wanted or select one you didn’t even know you wanted.  If you didn’t like it, nine times out of ten you could just trade it for a different one free of charge.  And the selection was unmatched by anything outside of Netflix’s mail service.  You weren’t limited to new releases and straight-to-DVD hack jobs like * Zombies vs. Nazi Hookers from Outer Space.

Netflix instant has a great selection of Television shows but its movies are limited.  There are some great ones, don’t get me wrong, but you’ve really got to choose from their selection.  You can’t watch movies on a whim there.  Their mail service is the most complete, but again, if you want specific films you’ve got to wait ‘til they're mailed.  The closest you’ve got to “whim watching” is “Hey, let’s watch Ace Ventura on Thursday, cool?”

So the last bastion of great film outside of buying them is your local library.  They’ve got all sorts of great stuff.  They’ve got classics, documentaries, kid’s films, new films, old films, bad films, good films—they’ve got films.  And  they’re housed in a building. 

Go to the library.

* Note: not a real movie (I don't think)

LET’S TALK ABOUT… Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane is another movie, along with Casablanca, Vertigo, The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia etc…, that frequently tops “Best of” lists.  It’s Orson Wells’ magnum opus.  A vanity project.  It was a box office flop.  It was booed at the Oscars.   It was way ahead of its time.  It is now known as one of the greatest examples of American Cinema at its most innovative. 

It’s basically the story of the life and death of the title character, a newspaper magnate famously based off of William Randolph Hearst.   There are endless topics to discuss about this movie but I want to talk about direction.

In acting, there was acting before Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire, and there was acting after Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire.  For direction, there was directing before Orson Wells’ Citizen Kane, and there was directing after Orson Wells’ Citizen Kane.

 

Orson Wells, a renowned actor, also wrote, produced, and directed this film.  He’s sort of like George Clooney.  Or Ben Affleck. 

Check out the opening.

The camera slowly panning up the gates that go on forever... It's sort of like the opening of Star Wars, with the camera shooting the bottom of the Star Destroyer as it just goes and goes and goes. Unforgettable stuff.  Very Influential.  

Now consider that this movie was made in 1941.  Consider the technological limitations.  

Now watch as Wells blows through them to achieve his vision.

Now, I wish I knew more about the technical aspects of film making.  I won't lie to you, I know virtually nothing about the camera.  What I do know is movies, and I can't name a single film before this one that uses a camera like this.  Just look at the opening scene where we see the nurse come in through the reflection of the broken glass snowball, or this last scene where the camera passes through a sign, then through the glass to get into the restaurant.  It's like a spirit or something.  

I'll admit, there is a very clear dissolve as it goes through the glass, but I still don't know how it got through that sign.

Here's one last clip of Wells playing with reflections.

LET'S TALK ABOUT... Casablanca

Everyone’s heard of Casablanca.  It’s Humphrey Bogart’s most famous film.  It’s got several of the most quoted movie lines in history.  It frequently tops “Best Movies of All Time” lists, and it’s no surprise why.  It's set in an exotic location, it's got humor, it's got singing, it's got gambling, it's got drinking, it's got guns, it's got Nazis, it's got seedy characters, and an unforgettable romance.  Not to mention a killer ending.

But I don’t want to talk about all that.

I want to talk about Peter Lorre. 

I’ve watched this movie… god knows how many times, and I’m constantly amazed by Peter Lorre’s presence in it—which is saying something, considering he’s introduced at the same time as our hero, Rick—AKA Humphrey Bogart. 

Now, for those of you who don’t know, Peter Lorre is one of those legendary character actors.  His voice has been replicated in countless cartoons, usually in the mouths of creepy villains.  He’s in Casablanca for maybe five minutes, but it’s his scene I think about when I think about this movie.

Check it out.   I’ll wait.

He just takes over the movie, doesn’t he?

But if I stop fawning over Peter Lorre’s performance, what’s really at play here is an excellent foil, and a near perfect character introduction.

We’ve got this slimy, weirdo black market shyster conversing with this seemingly rock-solid, man of few words, powerful individual.   Everything Rick does exemplifies his character—he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t let that “powerful” man into the bar, he doesn’t sit with the guests, and later, you’ll have to keep watching for another five minutes, he “sticks his neck out for no man.”

If you're looking to get in to classic film, Casablanca is a great place to start.