Louisiana Story (1948)
A film about the adventures of a young boy in the bayou in which he lives, after a bunch of oil drillers decide to set up shop almost next door. Some random, mostly unrelated stuff happens whilst they drill and pray they hit the black gold. This is a bit of an odd film, in that there is very little dialogue (partly because the actors are non-professional and director Robert Flaherty avoided anything that would detract from their performances).
I found that when Flaherty is not trying to tell a story is when the film is at its best. The idyllic shots of nature, and the mechanical rhythm of the oil driller process are wonderful to watch, but when people start talking or when Flaherty tries to inject a sense of plot or plot progression, the film falls apart. Every character gets on well with everyone else, so there's no source of tension is ever established. When tense moments do arise we struggle to feel the anxiousness of the characters. (Odd musical scoring also doesn't help the situation, Pulitzer prize winning though it may be.)
Malcolm (1986)
A nice little Aussie film that won the AFI for best film. To make some money after being fired for making his own tram, the titular character takes in a lodger (and eventually this man's girlfriend) in order to make some money. The only problem is that poor Malcolm is a very shy man who doesn't cope well in social situations, although he does have an incredible mind for engineering all sorts of contraptions. On the whole it's a pretty good film. It's got a great sense of humour, and the final act is full of surprises that cleverly implement elements and ideas introduced earlier in the film.
The film does have some problems though, in particular that it doesn't really know what sort of film it wants to be. It ends up being a sort of heist movie in the end, and I liked that, but it melds between dramatic character study and offbeat indie comedy as well which require different mindsets. The characters, too, aren't always likeable. Malcolm’s lodger, Frank, will start to warm to Malcolm, but then get angry and do something that ruins all the plot and character development laid down beforehand. It's hard to know whether we are meant to like this guy, and whether we are meant to want Malcolm to be sucked into Frank's criminal world the way he is.
The positives outweigh this stuff in the end, and there are plenty of memorable scenes. I ended up quite liking this little gem of a film.
Secret Agent (1936)
One of Hitchcock's films based on a stage play called Ashenden, not the novel called Secret Agent. The novel was adapted by Hitchcock into Sabotage, which is not to be confused with another Hitchcock film, Saboteur. The film (Secret Agent, that is) is essentially about a group of British spies who need to track down and eliminate a German spy during WWI. Two of the spies are posing as husband and wife, and things get a little complicated when they actually do fall in love. I found the actual spy stuff to be more interesting than the character development. Some of the neat little tricks they pull here and there are quite fun to see in action. However, the final twist of who the German spy is becomes pretty obvious after a certain point.
Love Affair (1939)
A man and woman meet on a cruise, fall in love, don't want to be seen together yet visit said man's grandmother during a four hour stop-over, part ways at the end of the cruise, but agree to meet on the top floor of the Empire State Building. This is a stock-standard love story from the 1930's. If you've seen one, you've seen this one, quit frankly. It's extremely predictable (do you really think they're going to both meet up at the Empire State Building after only half an hour?) and at times doesn't seem to give you any idea where it is going. For a thriller, that's good. For a love story, that's bad. To be fair, though, it does have some quite touching moments here and there. There's no antagonist in the film, and so everyone has a softer side that they all seem to demonstrate at one point or another.
One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1942)
A film about a group opf six airman shot down over the Netherlands during WWII, and who are helped to get back to Britain by a whole bunch of people. The production values on the film were nice and all, but there just wasn't any tension. The opening title pretty much tells you what's going to happen for the next 90 minutes, and the airman don't ever seem to get into too much trouble because they do a great job of avoiding the Germans. There was nothing in the film to get me invested in the characters and what was happening.
Akira (1988)
Cyberpunk, dystopian future, psychic powers, great action, wonderful animation, this film's got the lot. It's difficult to tell what on earth is going on at times, particularly in the final act, but it's also extremely intriguing. It has a feel to it that is perhaps best described as part Blade Runner, and part 2001: A Space Odyssey. It doesn't answer all the questions it poses, but rather leaves everything a bit open ended and open for interpretation.
Some people will find this frustrating, and I will admit that there was a touch of frustration in my viewing experience. That being said, at the same time the presence of these unanswered questions seems to fit the tone of the film and almost adds to its appeal. There are some very interesting, at times fundamental ideas layered into the story, even if they are either (apparently) explored more fully in the manga the film is based on or not immediately obvious without some further discussion.
I can't say I completely understood the film, but I did end up enjoying it.
Pygmalion (1938)
I didn't find myself enjoying this film that much, possibly because the pacing just seems all wrong. There doesn't really seem to be any substance to the middle act at all, while the first and third acts of the film drag out well past what they should need to. Any tension that was going to be there is gone. Pacing seem to be a common problem when I watch films based on plays, and this was no exception.
On top of that, I always found myself questioning the motives and actions of almost everyone. Who are we meant to sympathise with (apart from Eliza Doolittle, obviously)? What should Eliza have really done in the end? I could never sort out these sort of things in my mind, and for that I found the film, not some much a frustrating experience, but rather a messy one.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
On the surface this film is charming enough, but that's about as far as the charm gets. There's the occasional chuckle, but most of the jokes either fall flat or feel stale. Many of the references are so obscure that not only are they bound to go over the heads of not just the kids, but most of the adults accompanying them as well. The film also spends far too much time trying too hard to lean on the fourth wall. It doesn't so much wink at the camera as yell directly into the lens. Ultimately, there just doesn't feel as though there's anything new, fresh, or funny in this film.
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