Friday, August 2, 2013

Netflix This Movie! Vol. 36

Heavy dramas, cartoons and Christian Slater. We always give you variety.
Adam Riske: Bringing Out the Dead (1999, dir. Martin Scorsese) On initial release, great directors' movies are often sorted into 'haves' and 'have-nots,' needing some breathing room for proper analysis. Bringing Out the Dead is one that was a have-not and it really should not have been. It just fell victim to not being as good as Goodfellas or Taxi Driver. It's overused to say a movie is "dreamlike" or "hypnotic," but honestly few movies achieve those moods better than Bringing Out the Dead for me. It feels like you're on a version of Earth, but not quite Earth. The movie follows a burnt-out paramedic (played by Nicolas Cage in a performance that reminds you how great he is when he's trying) over the course of three nights of ride-alongs. The Cage character is hallucinating about the ghosts of people he couldn't save and overwhelmed by a malaise he cannot escape. This is not a flawed man due for a comeuppance, but rather a person that might be too empathetic for his job -- which is ironic, considering "shutting down" is basically essential in his profession. The heart of the movie, though, is quite poignant and worth noting: sometimes people are their own worst enemies. Cage decides to be a "grief mop" when no one else told him he had to. That point is made specific in a great decision by Scorsese to counterpoint him with three other paramedics with very different takes on the role. This is a dark and snail-paced movie, but also a very strong character study that should be discussed and not dismissed.
Heath: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996, dir. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise) I don't think that Disney's animated version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a particularly good movie, nor do I think that Disney should have decided to tell the story if they were only going to cut up Victor Hugo's epic novel and rewrite large swaths of a classic. But there's something darkly enduring about their version that draws me in whenever I see it. It feels very subversive and twisted, and I find the idea of using a children's movie with talking gargoyles to house ideas about corrupt clergy members, lust and sin and the threat of eternal damnation to be too much to resist. There's quite a lot of darkness going on, including a song called "Hellfire," which is sung in the cathedral while flames leap from the fireplace and cast demonic shadows on the wall. Plus, I think it has one of the best pre-title song sequences in all of Disney's later output.
JB: Heathers (1989, dir. Michael Lehmann) Apparently, there are actually people out there who have never seen this seminal black comedy! I cannot imagine who these people might be, and how sad and sheltered there lives are, perhaps they have spent far too many hours standing in lines that lead to no clear benefit, but there you go. Trust me, as a bonefide high school teacher, this is one of the few films to get HIGH SCHOOL RIGHT. Mean Girls shamelessly copied it. This is one of the few Winona Ryder performances that is watchable, outside of department store security camera footage. I love my dead gay son. By the way, Netflix's computer algorithm suggests that if you like Heathers, you will love Mermaids. You will not.
Mark Ahn: The Sacrifice (1986, dir. Andrei Tarkovsky, Swedish language) Tracked this one down after reading an article from the British Film Institute about movies that Stanley Kubrick liked. You Kubrick-philes will see why he may have liked it from a technical and thematic perspective (there's a nine minute tracking shot!), but fair warning, Tarkovsky's last movie will require some work on your part as a viewer. Ultimately, it is what a man will do to protect his family in times of desperation.
Patrick:  Kuffs (1992, dir. Bruce A. Evans) HOLY SHIT DID YOU GUYS KNOW THAT KUFFS IS ON NETFLIX INSTANT??

11 comments:

  1. My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades.
    Time to buy a turkey!

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  2. I unabashedly love Kuffs, and to this day use "love and kisses on all your pink parts" as often as possible. I have SO MANY RESTRAINING ORDERS you guys.

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  3. Okay, dangit. It's time to sit down and watch Heathers for the first time. Apparently I'm missing out on something great.

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    1. I think you'll love it, John. In fact, with all the Heathers madness going on around here lately, I'm going to put my foot down and force my spousal equivalent to watch it this weekend. It's one of those movies you just don't expect to be as good as it is.

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    2. Yeah I just finished watching it for the first time, totally one of those 'how have I not seen this?' movies. Oh god, even knowing ahead of time that 'I love my dead gay son' was a thing couldn't prepare me.

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  4. So thinking back, what do you think Christian Slater's last, non-ironically good movie is? I'm looking at his filmography right now and geez, maybe MURDER IN THE FIRST? INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE?

    And then I see something he was in called HOLLYWOOD: THE CHURCHILL YEARS and think I'm down the rabbit hole.

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  5. @Joseph - Great question! I would say The Contender but it's not really a Christian Slater movie. I haven't seen it in a long time but remember finding it interesting. He's also good in Bobby but that movie is not very good.

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    1. Adam, I think you might be right on THE CONTENDER. It's not exactly a Slater movie but he's significant enough

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  6. I would like to make a counter suggestion to Heath's Hunchback of Notre Dame, just released on Netflix today was Prince of Egypt, Dreamworks 1st full length animated movie and I am not an overly religious man myself and don't believe you need to be to enjoy this film. When you go past the story of Moses and his quest the film is really just about 2 brothers.

    Oh and Patrick I was just melted out of my block of ice this weekend (my icemate was Brendan Fraser) and will definitely catch Heathers for the 1st time this weekend.

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    1. An under appreciated movie, I think; there's some nice voice work in there and lovely animation. Sadly, it's also a musical, which is just didn't need to be.

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  7. I'm told by those who should know that Bringing Out The Dead is a favorite among paramedics.

    And not how Cuban Floridians like Scarface - as a comedy. But in a non-ironic way.

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