We have done really well renting movies lately. We've rented 4 very different movies in a row that I thought were worth mentioning, plus one I saw last winter that was also unique enough to deserve an honorable mention.
Honorable Mention - The Company. Can you recommend a movie based on one scene? This movie is the creation of Neve Campbell (yes, that Neve Campbell from the Scream horror movies). She wrote the concept, which follows the lives of dancers in a ballet company for one season. Robert Altman liked it so much he wanted to direct it. Campbell also stars in it, and dances in it. And does a darn good job dancing in it. I kept watching my favorite scene over and over to make sure it was really her. The movie is a little choppy, the dancers aren't really film actors, and the one recognizable actor besides Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, has an over-the-top performance that will leave your eyes rolling. But it still isn't horrible. In fact, it's a pretty entertaining movie if you like ballet. All of the performance scenes are outstanding. But my favorite is the outdoor amphitheater performance by Neve herself and a partner. The Kronos quartet is on stage playing "My Funny Valentine", (a hauntingly beautiful classic that Campbell decides to use all through the film - but is performed by different artists.) A thunderstorm starts kicking up, but the dancers keep performing through the wind and rain. It's just a lovely scene, in a movie that made me want to get tickets to the next ballet performance at Bass Hall.
1) The Sea Inside. This is most serious of all my suggestions today. This is a Spanish film based on a true story starring the amazing Javier Bardem in the lead role. It deals with the right-to-die issue. I was NOT looking forward to seeing this movie, and told my husband I had the right to bow out at any moment if I thought I couldn't take it. But Bardem's performance is so riveting that I couldn't possibly turn away. He was so likeable, so sad, angry, funny and determined - so human, that I had to know how his story turned out. And although there are some gut-wrenchingly sad moments, amazingly enough, we had a good feeling at the end of it. I won't explain why, because it could possibly sway someone else's viewing experience.
2) The Chorus - Another foreign film, this one from France. The story line takes place just after WWII has ended, and revolves around a French boarding school for boys ranging in age from 6 or 7 to 15 or so. These are not good boys. You could call it a reform school, but unfortunately there's not a lot of reform going on. Until a teacher is hired, hears them singing a taunting verse they've made up to ridicule him, and realizes some of them have pretty good voices. Apparently he used to be a conductor, and still writes music - they never go into his past. He organizes them into a boys choir and rehearses them until they become really good. The headmaster's role is very predictable as a mean-spirited ogre who gave up hope on the boys a long time ago. But the actor playing the teacher is wonderful playing a rather sad character. He has many broken dreams, you sense, when he starts this job, but is transformed by the music the boys start creating, and by the changes that occur in them with some discipline and attention. The actors playing the boys are also great. But the main reason to see this one is the music. The boys have such pure voices - and the scenes of the choir will give you goose bumps. I have added the soundtrack to my wish-list.
3) The Aviator - The only big-budget film in the group. I am not a Leonardo DiCaprio fan at all. But I loved The Age of Innocence by Scorsese - in fact it's one of my favorite movies, so I was willing to see what he did with the early Howard Hughes story. I wish we'd gone to see it on a big screen. I don't think seeing it on television did it justice. But it was still great. The cinematography and special effects are great. The music was great (I loved seeing Rupert Wainwright singing in front of a big band!). And even Leonardo did an outstanding job. I forgot how much I dislike him, and was totally roped into the story. And what a wacky story it was! I've heard snippets about Howard Hughes's life towards the end, when he was already loony with the long beard and nails and living in a sterile penthouse, but that's all I really knew about the man. It's fascinating to see someone with such a forward thinking and brilliant brain go slowly insane. But the best part of the movie for me, without question, was Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Katherine Hepburn. I was a little hesitant about this going in, because I am such a huge Katherine Hepburn fan. I really didn't see how someone could play her. I could see someone totally mimicking her, or not quite capturing her strength and individual nature, with the performance falling flat either way. But Blanchett nails it so wonderfully, so effortlessly, I was stunned. I wouldn't mind seeing the movie again just to watch her.
4) The Upside of Anger - This little gem stars Joan Allen as a VERY angry and bitter wife and mother whose husband has just left her. She has four daughters, ranging in age from early teens to early twenties. Kevin Costner stars as one of her neighbors who starts to move in on Allen. He is an alcoholic ex-baseball player who makes a living these days autographing baseballs and doing a radio call-in show. I had read some about this movie going in, and knew there was going to be a lot of drinking by Allen and Costner. I don't usually enjoy movies about people addicted to anything because sometimes it hits too close to home or dredges up bad memories. But this movie held a few big surprises to rope me in and keep me there. The first thing that caught me off guard was the humor. There are a lot of belly-laugh moments all throughout. And all four daughters give great performances. I knew Joan Allen would be good. She's one of the best actresses out there today. What I was unprepared for was Costner's performance. He has some unforgettable scenes that my husband and I are still talking about. He starts out small and brash and pitiful, but grows (like a virus at times) into someone the family starts to need without even knowing it. And he ends up needing them too. There are a few small holes in the plot, but this is a movie worth seeing. You will be thinking about it long after the credits roll.
I have Bridge on the River Kwai to watch. I've looked forward to seeing this movie for years because 1) it's directed by David Lean, and 2) it caused my parents to have a huge argument when they saw it in the theater years ago. I'm hoping they will finally tell me about it. I will be doing an entire post on David Lean movies once I've seen it. We have some more foreign ones coming up in our queue, and I hope we can keep this good roll going! More to come later.
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