The Baader Meinhof Complex

With Carlos fresh in mind, I watched this true story of the RAF, or Red Army Faction to you acronym averse. Formed in Germany in 1970 by Andreas Baader, his girlfriend Gudrun Ensslin, and journalist Ulrike Meinhof, the RAF was a violent left wing terror group, self-proclaimed "urban guerrillas" at war with world fascism. They were contemporaries of The Jackel, though much more active and bloody. The film covers their rise and the founders' eventual prison terms. It's an excellent companion piece with Carlos, if I do say so myself. (I did, just then.)

What an incredibly dynamic time the late 60s and 70s were and not for the usual reasons we associate with that era in this country. Europe was a hotbed of this kind of revolutionary spirit, the likes of which we have never experienced in America. That's not a bad thing because even at our worst we've managed to remain stable enough to counterbalance that kind of sentiment (ok, the Civil War, but I'm talking about once we got indoor plumbing). I'm certainly not romanticizing the misguided violence of these terror groups, but from a historical perspective, it makes for some exciting reading and viewing. PLUS

Playlist Round-Up

Please note the lack of a colon in the title. I did not recently watch a film about a cattle drive. However, I have mentioned colons a lot recently. Then again, I am getting older. I do eat a lot of cereal, so I hope that counts for something.

But, no, this post is about two films I did not completely watch recently*. Generally, I try to slog my way through these things, but maybe this is a new trend that's another side effect of aging. Life's too short for some of this shit.

The Headless Woman

Film Comment magazine ranked this as the second best film released in the U.S. in 2009 and one of the best of the decade. It's about a non-decapitated woman who may or may not have killed a boy with her car (if you're wondering, she doesn't get out to check). Director Lucrecia Martel has said this is an examination of class differences in her native Argentina and a lot of critics have parroted those thoughts. Maybe it was the language barrier, but I found it difficult to gain any traction with the story. It is a series of slow, meandering scenes with no dramatic payoff, no tension at all, the type of movie where no one talks about anything and everything is implied, but implied under a blanket in a dark room. It got to the point where I had to fast forward to the end. And I don't think I missed anything. (It helps that this art house favorite only scored a 6.4 on IMDB.)

Aaah! Zombies! (or, for some reason, Wasting Away)

I tried to watch this 2007 movie three separate times and combined only made it about halfway. There's a clever hook here: the main characters are all brain-chomping creatures (not really zombies!) but don't really know it. The film alternates between their normal POV and everyone else's perspective of the monsters they have become. And it's a comedy! But it's really dumb. Amateurish acting and an ambition for camp that is undermined by a script that just isn't smart enough to pull it off. This may very well be a fun movie to watch with a group, but since I watch movies alone in my hole, I couldn't get into it.

*And by recently, I mean several weeks ago since that's when I thought I posted this. Oh, me.

Playlist: The Foot Fist Way

Vinny Guns told me I had to watch Eastbound & Down. He was right. Not that I had to watch it, I don't think. It's possible (though not literally) that he could have telepathically hijacked me into doing it, but then again, wouldn't he then wipe my mind of any knowledge of his manipulation? That only makes sense, right? No, what I meant was he was right about it being good. Did I not mention that part? It was implied, like this sarcasm.

Then, Vinny Guns then told me I had to watch Danny McBride and Jody Hill's first film, The Foot Fist Way. (Please note: Vinny Guns didn't say please either time.) So, I watched it. And it was good, just not as good. It was funny, just not as funny. What it turned out to be was a test run for Eastbound with McBride's character, Taekwondo instructor Fred Simmons, essentially being Kenny Powers sans sweet ass mullet. If you like McBride, which I do, that's a good thing. Unfortunately, he's undermined by some less than stellar supporting performances, the actress playing his wife being of particular notverygoodness. But, that's what you get in such a small production. (Hill's small role as a slightly off-center fellow martial artist is the best non-McBride thing in the film.)

Actually, FFW is closer in tone to Hill's Observe & Report than Eastbound. Unsurprisingly, Vinny Guns is a big O&R fan as well. Me, less so. But we both agree wholeheartedly that we're fans of Vinny Guns. BOOM!

Playlist: The Good, The Bad, The Weird

It's 1930s Manchuria and everyone's fighting everyone in Director Kim Ji-woon's kimchi western. Add a treasure map to the mix and, well, everyone ends up fighting everyone even more. A Korean thief inadvertently steals the map from a Japanese army official during a train robbery before a notorious bandit and take it for his employer. The thief takes off chased by the bandit, a bounty hunter after the bandit, a local Manchurian gang, and of course, the Japanese army. Several highly choreographed shoot-em ups and a good helping of goofy Asian film humor later, it comes down to a three way duel between the title players. The lead actors are all very good: deadeye hero Jung Woo-sung (The Good), slick & nasty Lee Byung-hun (The Bad), and deceivingly schlubby Song Kang-ho (The Weird).

It's all fun up to a point. That point is around the 90 minute mark. Unfortunately, it doesn't end for another 40. Even with the conversion rate, that's too long.

Playlist: Let the Right One In

What's that, a Swedish vampire movie, you say? Ja.

I watched this a few months back, but since I started writing about the Six Shooter Film Series, I thought I'd finally get around to finishing this post. By now you have probably heard about Tomas Alfredson's 2008 film, based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist. It's the story of a young boy named Oskar, a loner who wants nothing more than to get back at the school bullies tormenting him. One night, he meets Eli, the new girl who moved into his apartment building. She informs him that they cannot be friends--that she's not even "really" a girl--but they go on to develop a bond anyway.

It's a strong story bolstered by the captivating performances of the two leads, Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson, and its quiet, atmospheric vibe that's very much the product of its hauntingly bleak setting. It's an art-horror film, but it's also very definitely a true vampire film, not afraid to embrace and elevate the genre. More on this in an upcoming post.

It was so successful, in fact, that it is scheduled to be honored with an all-American remake by Cloverfield director Matt Reaves. But it will star the boy from The Road and the girl from Kick-Ass, so maybe it won't be terrible. Though there's no helping its pointlessness.