Happy Monday to all. How was your weekend? Mine was decent. I had a chance to catch up on some movies I’d been waiting to see. What did you watch this weekend? I had the chance to see a pretty big one, ‘The Best Years of Our Lives’. I’m kind of ashamed that it took me this long to see the film. I don’t know why, but I always had this preconceived notion that it was going to be one of those Oscar winning films I didn’t agree with. It just looked rather stuffy and dated. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, I wish that I had waited a few weeks to write up that article on the best Best Picture Oscar winners (that I had seen). ‘The Best Years of Our Lives’ has a pitch perfect ensemble and a very moving story that is far more layered than I expected. It has a very effortless way of developing complex themes. It never feels overwrought but always keeps us hooked, despite its near three hour running length.
Oh, and Harold Russell was a total inspiration and, for a first time actor, blew me away.
This brings me to a question for all. Has there even been a film that you really enjoyed but that was tarnished by an individual scene that you just couldn’t look passed? That happened to me this weekend while I was watching a little known (I say that because I had never heard anyone ever talk about it before) 1962 film called ‘Pressure Point’. The film as a whole was rather compelling. It stars Sidney Poitier as a psychologist who is trying to help a Nazi with insomnia. The Nazi is played by Bobby Darin (in a riveting performance). Overall, I really liked the film, despite Poitier’s wooden performance (am I the only one who feels that, as a whole, he was a very limited actor?) but there was one scene that just struck me as dumb and took away from the entire film for me.
The ‘Tic-Tac-Toe’ scene was so overboard and exaggerated that it made it hard to take seriously, and it’s intent is to shock and disturb and add this layer to Darin’s performance and instead it came across laughable and campy and just plain silly. So, how about you? Any film you really liked that was brought down a peg by a ridiculous ‘moment’?
Also, while I don’t watch TV I do watch The Emmys (awards slut that I am) and watching Julianne Moore actually win a televised award was delicious. I haven’t seen ‘Game Change’ but I could care less. I’m just so happy for that moment.
Also, I never wanted to gif a film more than when watching ‘A Handful of Dust’ yesterday. If I could get my hands on a gif of Anjelica Huston having her fur removed or of Alec Guinness saying “yes, you will read to me” I would pay someone a large sum of money. The film was good, but those scenes were hilarious and really made the experience what it was. Guinness made a delightful psycho, and Huston was a pitch perfect lesbian (if that’s what she was supposed to be). She was, in all honesty, the manliest creature in that film.
And lastly, Saturday was the legendary Anna Karina’s birthday (not to be confused with the literary classic Anna Karenina). Considering that she’s best known for her collaborations (and relationship) with Jean-Luc Godard (who’ve I’ve openly admitted to be my favorite director, ever) it’s no surprise that I worship this legendary actress. Check out this short yet sweet homage to the beauty herself over at Film Flare.
Well that’s it for me right now. Time to watch more movies!
