Neo-noir Film #6: L.A. Confidential

Good day good people!  Well, here we are at last, the final film of our summer neo-noir film series.  Last week we witnessed Roman Polanski's noir masterpiece, Chinatown, and I don't want to let you guys down so I decided to finish up the series with another entry that just oozes film noir greatness.  Made some 23 years after Chinatown, but in a very similar vein and setting, we come to Curtis Hanson's beautiful homage to the genre: LA Confidential.

L.A. Confidential is a 1997 neo-noir detective film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet series.  Like the book, the film tells the story of a group of LAPD officers in the year 1953, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity.  The title refers to the 1950s scandal magazine Confidential, portrayed in the film as Hush-Hush.  The film adaptation was produced and directed by Curtis Hanson and co-written by Hanson and Brian Helgeland.

Critically acclaimed, the film holds a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as an aggregated rating of 90 on Metacritic.  It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning two:  Kim Basinger for Supporting Actress and Hanson and Helgeland for Best Adapted Screenplay; it lost every other category to Titanic.

Roger Ebert awarded the film 4/4 stars and later added it to his list of Great Movies and said this of the film, "L.A. Confidential is described as film noir, and so it is, but it is more: unusually for a crime film, it deals with the psychology of the characters...It contains all the elements of police action, but in a sharply clipped, more economical style; the action exists not for itself but to provide an arena for the personalities.  The dialogue is lovely; not the semi-parody of a lot of film noir, but the words of serious people trying to reveal or conceal themselves.  And when all of the threads are pulled together at the end, you really have to marvel at the way there was a plot after all, and it all makes sense, and it was all right there waiting for someone to discover it."

As I said, this film is a wonderful example of neo-noir made to replicate the feeling of the noirs of old, and it's a fantastic film.  We will be meeting Thursday, Aug. 28th at 6:15pm, hope to see you there!

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4XbnrmbEME

Neo-noir Film #5: Chinatown

A big thank you to everyone who was able to make it out to Fargo last week, we had a wonderful turnout!  This week in our Neo-noir series we will be entering into a little different territory.  Until now, just about all of our films were set in somewhat modern settings while employing the themes and techniques reminiscent of Film noir (hence, neo-noir).  This week's film (as well as next week's) fits into the neo-noir category because it was made after 1960, but is set in the late 1930s, when actual Film noir was being made.  Essentially it is a noir period piece.  This film comes to us from 1974, Roman Polanski's Chinatown.

Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir film, directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay by Robert Towne, and starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.  The film was inspired by the California Water Wars, a series of disputes over southern California water at the beginning of the 20th century by which Los Angeles interests secured water rights in the Owens Valley.  The Robert Evans production, a Paramount Pictures release, was the director's last film in the United States, and features many elements of film noir, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama.

In 1991 the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for films that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," and it is frequently listed among the greatest in world cinema.  The 1975 Academy Awards saw it nominated eleven times, with an Oscar going to Robert Towne for Best Original Screenplay.

The film currently holds a 98% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 60 reviews.  Roger Ebert awarded the film 4/4 stars and later added it to his list of Great Movies saying of the film, "Chinatown is not only a great entertainment, but something more, something I would have thought impossible:  It's a 1940s private-eye movie that doesn't depend on nostalgia or camp for its effect, but works because of the enduring strength of the genre itself.  In some respects, this movie actually could have been made in the 1940s.  It accepts its conventions and categories at face value and doesn't make them the object of satire or filter them through a modern sensibility...Here's a private-eye movie in which all the traditions, romantic as they may seem, are left intact."

This film and next weeks film are wonderful examples of neo-noir replicating the feel of actual 1930s and 40s film noir in a way we have not yet seen in our series, and you will not want to miss it.  We will be meeting Thursday, Aug. 21st at 6:15pm, hope to see you there!

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYAUoVJDgRg

Neo-noir Film #4: Fargo

Greetings!  First, allow me a moment to thank everyone who was able to make it to Memento, hopefully you've had some time to think about what happened in the film because at the start of our next meeting there will be a test....ok, that isn't true, but I'm glad you all stuck with it, it can be a somewhat challenging film, but a challenging film is a film that makes you think!  Secondly, I'm here to announce the next title in our Summer Neo-noir film series!  This next film will be the second in our series directed by the masterful Joel and Ethan Coen (who directed our first film Blood Simple).  Fargo is perhaps the one film in our series that somewhat strays from the traditional dark and shadowy style generally found in noir and neo-noir (some others have but not as much), taking place in the blinding white of snowy Minneapolis, Minnesota and Fargo, North Dakota.  This being said, the film does maintin many of the themes we have seen in our other films in the series: kidnapping, murder, revenge, double crossing, criminal investigations, etc.

Fargo is a 1996 American dark comedy crime film written, produced, edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.  It stars Frances McDormand as a pregnant Minnesota police chief who investigates a series of local homicides, and William H. Macy as a struggling car salesman who hires two criminals to kidnap his wife.  The film also features Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, and Harve Presnell, as well as the work of one of my favorite cinematographers in business, Roger Deakins.  The film earned seven Academy Award nominations, winning two for Best Original Screenplay for the Coens and Best Actress in a Leading Role for McDormand.  In 2006, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and inducted into the United States National Film Registry for preservation, making it one of only five films to be preserved in its first year of eligibility.

Fargo was met with widespread critical acclaim, currently holding a 94% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 84 critics.  Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert both named Fargo the best film of 1996.  It was also Ebert's fourth favorite of the 1990s.  He awarded the film 4/4 stars and later added it to his list of Great Movies.  In his original review he said this of the film: "Fargo begins with an absolutely dead-on familiarity with smalltown life in the frigid winter landscape of Minnesota and North Dakota.  Then it rotates its story through satire, comedy, suspense and violence, until it emerges as one of the best films I've ever seen....films like Fargo are why I love the movies."

We will be meeting Thursday, Aug. 14th at 6:15pm, hope to see you there!

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpdOXSEkvO8

Neo-Noir Film #3: Memento

Happy Monday everybody!  A big thank you to everyone who made it out to our showing of Rian Johnson's directorial debut, Brick, we had a real nice turnout.
On to business.  This is the final week of the first leg of our Neo-noir series, which will pick up again Aug. 14th and continue for the following weeks (21st and 28th).
Now, after much deliberation, I have finally decided on Christopher Nolan's wonderfully inventive thriller: Memento, as the next entry in our exploration of neo-noir.

Memento is a 2001 American neo-noir psychological thriller directed by Christopher Nolan.  The screenplay was written by Nolan based on his younger brother Jonathan Nolan's short story "Memento Mori".  It stars Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano.  Memento is presented as two different sequences of scenes: a series in black-and-white that is shown chronologically, and a series of color sequences shown in reverse order.  The two sequences "meet" at the end of the film, producing one common story.  We follow Leonard Shelby (Pearce) as a man with anterograde amnesia (short-term memory loss) as he attempts to hunt down the man responsible for the murder of his wife.  Critics especially praised its unique, nonlinear narrative structure and motifs of memory, perception, grief, self-deception, and revenge.  The film was successful at the box office and received numerous accolades, including Academy Award nominations for Original Screenplay and Film Editing.  The film holds a 92% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes out of 167 reviews.
Roger Ebert awarded the film 3/4 stars saying, "The purpose of the movie is not for us to solve the murder of the wife.  If we leave the theatre not sure exactly what happened, that's fair enough.  The movie is more like a poignant exercise, in which Leonard's residual code of honor pushes him through a fog of amnesia toward what he feels is his moral duty."

We will be meeting this Thursday, July 31st at 6:15pm, hope to you there!

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ploSYVE0uao

Neo-noir Film #2: Brick

Hey everybody, thanks to all of you who made it out last week for our first neo-noir film, Blood Simple.  This week we will be watching the excellent debut film from Rian Johnson: Brick.

Brick is a 2005 American neo-noir thriller film written and directed by Rian Johnson, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  The film's narrative centers on a hard-boiled detective story that takes place in a Californian suburb.  Most of the main characters are high school students.  The film draws heavily in plot, characterization, and dialogue from hard-boiled classics, especially from Dashiell Hammett.  The origins of Brick were Rian Johnson's Hammett obsession.  Hammett was known for hard-boiled detective novels, and Johnson wanted to make a straightforward American detective story.  He realized that this would result in a mere imitation and set his piece in high school to keep things fresh.  Of the initial writing process he remarked, "it was really amazing how all the archetypes from that detective world slid perfectly over the high school types."

Brick was released to positive reviews.  It currently holds an 80% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, derived from 134 reviews.  Roger Ebert awarded the film 3/4 stars stating, "What is impressive is his commitment to his idea of the movie's style.  He relates to the classic crime novels and movies, he notes the way their mannered dialogue and behavior elevates the characters into archetypes, and he uses the strategy to make his teenagers into hard-boiled guys and dolls.  The actors enter into the spirit; we never catch them winking."

We will be meeting this coming Thursday, July 24th at 6:15pm, hope you can join us!

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM7E0XGiyrc

Summer Film Club: Neo Noir

Hey folks, I am back and with my return comes also the return of Film Club!  For the remaining months of summer (July and August) we will be watching films that fit a theme, that theme is Neo-Noir.  Some of you may be unfamiliar with this sub-genre (some of you may even be unfamiliar with the genre of Film Noir altogether!), so allow me a moment to expalin.

Film Noir, as described by the internet (wikipedia), is as follows:  "Film Noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations.  Hollywood's classical film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s.  Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black and white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography.  Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression."

Neo-Noir, as also described by the internet (wikipedia), is as follows:  "Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in film noir of the 1940s and 1950s."

Class dismissed.

SO, for the last three weeks of July (17th, 24th, 31st) and the last three weeks of August (14th, 21st, 28th) we will be watching films that fall into the sub-genre of Neo noir.  I sent out an email a few days ago explaining that I have not selected the second two films for July yet, but never fear!  For I have selected the first, and that's all that matters at the moment.  Regardless, here is the planned schedule:

July 17th- Blood Simple
July 24th- TBA
July 31st- TBA

Aug 14th- Fargo
Aug 21st- Chinatown
Aug 28th- LA Confidential

All films will begin at the regular Film Club time of 6:15pm.

Our first film in the Neo noir series is the stunning debut film by the extemely talented Coen brothers:

Blood Simple is a 1984 neo-noir crime film written, directed and produced by Joel and Ethan Coen.  The film's title derives from the Dashiell Hammett novel Red Harvest (1929), in which the term "blood simple" describes the addled, fearful mindset of people after a prolonged immersion in violent situations.  It was the directorial debut of the Coens and the first major film of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who later became a noted director, as well as the feature film debut of Joel Coen's wife Frances McDormand, who subsequently starred in many of his features.

Blood Simple is an excellent example of the updated style found in neo-noir films.  I hope you are able to come out and see this fantastic film!





Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI0ov8zzfQA

May Film Club

Hello everyone, thanks to all of you who were able to make it out to see Wings of Desire, I hope you enjoyed it.

MAY!  It's a new month folks and that means a new film.  For the month of May, we will be watching a film by one of my personal favorite filmmakers, Terrence Malick.  The film to which I am referring is...*drumroll* The Tree of Life.

The Tree of Life is a 2011 American epic experimental drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain.  The film chronicles the origins and meaning of life by way of a middle-aged man's childhood memories of his family living in 1950s Texas, interspersed with imagery of the origins of the universe and the inception of life on Earth.

It's not the easisest film to describe or put into a nice plot summary because it's somewhat light on narrative and heavy on the visuals, the imagery, the sounds and the emotions that are conveyed.

This is one of my absolute favorite films of all time.  Terrence Malick is a visionary director the likes of which are rarely seen these days, from his early film Days of Heaven to his epic meditation on war and humanity, The Thin Red Line, and now The Tree of Life.

In January 2012, the film was nominated for three Academy Awards:  Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography.  In the 2012 Sight & Sound critics' poll, 16 critics voted for it as one of their 10 greatest films ever made; this ranked it at #102 in the finished list (making it the third film on the list which had been released since the year 2000, behind Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love  and David Lynch's Mulholland Drive.)

This is one of those films you must see, espeically if you love film, music, art or whatever!  Just see it!

We will be meeting Thursday, May 15th at 6:15pm.  Hope to see you there!

Here's the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXRYA1dxP_0