El ángel exterminador (The Exterminating Angel) (1962)

Today's film is The Exterminating Angel.  It's supposed to be a comedy but its more of an absurd comedy than a laugh-out-loud comedy.  I don't understand absurd comedy at all.

So these rich people are at a party, and they all end up spending the night.  The next day no one is able to leave the room.  As time passes, they start running out of food and water and their situation grow more dire.

I get that it's supposed to be about the Spanish bourgeoisie and the whole situation with the civil war and communism.  But how can we relate to this film today?  When I watched this film, I thought about comfort zones.  A lot of people can't leave a bad job or bad boyfriend because they are trapped in their comfort zone.  They're too afraid of the unknown, of what else could be out their that they can't leave.  The same way with the party goers in the film, none of them could leave the room.  In addition, no one on the outside could enter the house to rescue them.  That's because there is no one else to pull you out of your comfort zone, you have to do it yourself.

Eventually they learn the secret to escaping the room and get out.  But the story doesn't end there.  Another group of people get stuck at a church.  These two incidences show that all their money and faith get them nowhere in life.  I didn't find this funny but I found it unique.  I will give it an 8/10.

Carnival of Souls (1962)

Today's film is Carnival of Souls.  It used local actors and a tiny budget, and has a quaint charm.

It focuses on Mary, who is in a car that is drag racing. The car drives off the bridge and crashes into the water.  The cops drag the water but find nothing.  Later, Mary emerges from the water unharmed with no memory of what happened.  She then moves to to new town and finds work as a church organist. No matter  where she goes, she encounters a creepy man with a white face and black eye area. He appears out of nowhere to her.  She even sees a doctor, who believes these apparitions are a result of survivor's guilt.  Throughout the film, she is time and time again drawn to a mysterious building.

We find that the building was once a carnival, and now houses the souls of drowning victims.  Through this, we can easily predict the ending, that Mary actually did die in the water after the crash.  I think the whole thing was a dream right before she died.  Like she was sort of aware she was dead but not fully.  I remember having to read An Incident at Owl Creek in high school and it focused on this same issue.

Even thought the movie was very predictable and not very well acted, it had a genuine creep factor so I will give it a 5/10.

Videodrome (1983)

The early 1980's were a simpler time.

Today, if I wanted to see pictures of blood splatter (of which I do have a proclivity towards) or gore, I could simply go to a variety of specialized websites.  Some people enjoy watching videos containing violence, whether real or obviously faked.  Some also enjoy playing violent or scary video games or listening to heavy metal.  And the thing is, we are not violent people.  

Some people get out their frustrations from the day by playing a violent video game.  I have had Autism my entire life, so my mind travels in different directions a mile a minute, so I listen to heavy metal at night so I can start to calm down.  My co-film critic and I like to dance and wear ourselves out before we go to bed.

But what about the 1980's?  There weren't many video games except like Pong or something.  Even early games like Mortal Kombat didn't come out until the 1990's.  There was no liveleak or youtube or anywhere to find short videos.  There were no phones that sent pictures.  There were no websites to browse through pictures.  Where am I supposed to find my blood pictures?  Come on!

That's where Videodrome comes in.  Videodrome is the new wave of violent TV.  It was accidentally discovered by a TV producer, Max Renn, who runs a station in Toronto.  Now, I've never been up north so I don't know much about Canada.  In fact, these pictures illustrate what I know about Canada:

So, Max decides to learn more about this Videodrome show and goes to a charity that helps homeless people watch TV (I'm not asking) and finds Brian O'blivion, who has recorded everything onto videocassettes.  Brian's daughter, Bianca explains about Videodrome and warns him that it is dangerous.  Max's girlfriend, Nicki, is turned on sexually by violence and wants to participate on an episode.  Unfortunately, I had to see James Wood's butt and I was not prepared for that.

I noticed that everyone's name is symbolic.  The main character is Max Renn (German for Run), Nicki Brand,  Convex, O'Blivion.  Their names made more sense as the movie went on.

This is a movie that I would really love to see updated with modern technology.  Remember this was made before reality shows and the movie The Matrix.  In that film, people use a smallish plug in the back of their heads to hook up to the matrix.  Poor Max has to use a giant tear in his abdomen to insert a videocassette.  Instead of Brian being split up into thousands of videocassettes, he would be a supercomputer, a transcended being who could answer Max's questions in real time and who could have explained Videodrome easier.

Max learns the makers of Videodrome are evil and are going to use their program to infect other people.  So he uses the gun he keeps in the tear of his abs to find the main producer and kill him.  We see that Videodrome really is some kind of virus and could infect anyone.  The way his body explodes like that is just awesome.  Then, Max runs away to an abandoned boat and finds Nicki inside a TV screen.  Should Max end his life and transcend into the "new flesh"?  How much of what has happened to him been a hallucination?   We may never know.  I will give this film a 9/10.

Sayat Nova (Color of Pomegranates) (1968)

So I was on a thread featuring strange and disturbing videos for, uhhh science purposes, and I discovered a music video by Juno Reactor called God is God.  I didn't find it creepy at all like most people did.  In fact I found the images moving and poetic.  I found out that the video was taken from a movie called Sayat Nova (Color of Pomegranates).  I decided to seek out this film and review it.

Today's film is Sayat Nova (Color of Pomegranates), which was filmed in Armenia.  It shows the life of the famous 18th century poet, Sayat Nova.  But, the film isn't told in a traditional narrative, instead the film shows several figurative and imaginative images, almost in a surreal manner.

The characters do not speak, all of the words are narrated by an unseen narrator.  The narration is from actual portions of Sayat Nova's poems, which are mostly romantic in nature.  There's a lot of characters looking deeply at each other, and characters turning their heads very slowly to face the camera.  Some of them stare down the camera and do not lose their gaze.  The slow, abstract nature of the scenes is a lot like a poem rather than a story, which is what the filmmakers wanted.  But, it's not so abstract that it's inaccessible.

Through the film, we see how beautiful the Armenian costumes are.  We watch as Sayat watches the men dye wool, lots of images of intricate rugs, and gaudy ornaments in the monastery.  The same person plays the young Sayat, his lover, and his muse.  We see Sayat's age as he grows up, finds his love of poetry, and later joins a monastery through watching this living poem.  I will rate this film a 7/10.

Persona (1966)

Today's film is Persona.  At first look, it is not an interesting movie.  But, the real story lies deeper within the film.  Imagine a really ugly cake.  Then, you cut into it and it's a strawberry cake! And you're like, Yay strawberries! (or whatever flavor you like).  That's what this film is like.

Elisabeth is an actress who, one day, stopped talking.  She absolutely refuses to talk.  The doctor says they have run every test possible. She is completely sane, she is just willfully not speaking.  I think that takes a lot of willpower.  Speaking is our main way of communicating and she simply stopped.

I do have some personal experience in this department.  My daughter and co-film critic, Azalea, doesn't speak either.  She can speak, and usually says about one or two words a day, and only when she absolutely has to.  Otherwise, she uses subtle hand signals or elaborate interpretative dances.  It is easy for me to figure out what she wants, but when she is around others she is easily frustrated.

 The doctor tries to figure out what's going on inside her mind, and instead of sending her home, sends her to a nice beach house.  Wait a second.  The doctor sends her to a beach house, with a private nurse to watch over her, even though she's perfectly well?  There's nothing wrong with her. The doctor should have just sent her home, right? Ok, well get this.

Guys.

get this.

guise.

She never left the hospital.  Everything that transpires at and around the beach house is Elisabeth's dream (or imagination).  Alma (which means soul) constantly speaks while Elisabeth stays silent.  I got rather annoyed because Alma just would not shut up.  But it helps to realize that it's just Elisabeth's inner thoughts. (Also, Bibi Andersson, who portrayed Alma did a great job acting) And they are rather unfiltered.  A nurse would never tell such a personal story of sex and an abortion to their patient.  That's unprofessional and not to mention very private.  Soon, Alma finds she is gaining more of Elisabeth's persona.  Well, Alma was part of Elisabeth's persona all along. So, Mr. Vogler, Elisabeth's husband, didn't mistake Alma for her.  In her dream, they are one and the same.  In the end, when the images of their faces merge, we fully realize this.

In the beginning and at the end, we are bombarded by surreal images.  There's a spider, the film goes off the reel and goes everywhere, lots of blood, and finally we see the ugliest boy I have ever seen.  And I wonder, what's with all the surrealism?  He's not Luis Buñuel.  The images seemed totally out of place with the rest of the film.  They actually took away from the mindbendingness the film provides and lessens its impact.  Anyway, I will give it a 7/10.

Repulsion (1965)

The first half is like so boring. Seeing a blonde girl walk around while jazz music plays is not how character development works.  Then I started to realize that she doesn't like men.  She really does not like men.  It doesn't help that her sister/roommate is dating a married man.

Her sister goes off with her boyfriend on vacation, leaving Carole, the blonde girl, at home.  She only has to do two things: go to work as normal, and drop off the rent money.  She fails at doing both.  Eventually she locks herself in the apartment and breaks down.

Question: Is the cracking of the walls supposed to represent the cracking of her fragile psyche? Because that is just way too literal a way to emphasize this. I did not like this at all. 

It's just a crack in the sidewalk. The director allows your
dirty mind to figure out what she's really looking at.

This film stands out as it portrays a character with mental illness from their point of view. We can tell she has suffered some form of abuse as she is untrusting, even afraid of all men, even ones who care about her.  This is confirmed by the photo at the end of her as a child glaring in quiet rage at her father.  I will give this film a 6/10.

Being John Malkovich (1999)

Today's film is Being John Malkovich. In this film, we first encounter Craig, a talented puppeteer that sacrifices everything for the chance to perform his art.  He neglects his wife, his personal hygiene, and actual employment, until one day his wife asks him to look for a job. He finds one as a filer for a strange office located on the 7 1/2 floor of a highrise.  One day, he finds a tiny door that opens to a portal, like in Alice in Wonderland.  He cautiously climbs down into it, and wakes up in the mind of John Malkovich!  About 15 minutes later, he is spat out onto the side of the New Jersey turnpike.

So he starts his own business along with a coworker, selling 'mind-trips' into the mind of Malkovich, making a lot of money. Meanwhile, his wife is at home still being ignored while he flirts with his coworker, who could not care less.

The character I feel most for is Craig's wife, Lotte.  We know that she wants to have a baby, because she tries to discuss it with Craig, but he'd rather spend time in the basement with his puppets. (He even makes a far more beautiful puppet of his coworker and plays with it in the basement! That is all kinds of creepy.) She is a caring person, so in lieu of a baby, she has all sorts of pets, including a monkey with his own therapist. When she enters the portal to Malkovich's mind, she feels sexually excited for the first time in a very long time. She mistakenly believes that she wants to become a man, but really all she's feeling is excitement because she's something different.  Because at the moment, she's a different person.  She doesn't want to be herself anymore, because nobody wants her or loves her. And that's sad. She deserves so much more.  Will she find happiness? Maybe she will, in an unexpected place.

I could go on and on asking questions about this movie, and I think that's why it's so meaningful to this list of 1001 movies.  If a movie raises questions and sparks discussions, it proves that it's not just a medium of art, it's on a whole different level.

What happens to the people's bodies when they enter the portal? Are they caught in stasis inbetween dimensions until they pop out at the side of the road?  And why does Flemmer need to take over Malkovich's body on his 44th birthday? What is the significance of 44? Is it because 4+4=8? Is that why they're on the 7 1/2 floor because that's right before 8?

This raises serious ethical questions about free will and immortality.  Is it really living forever if it's in another person's body? Should Flemmer have brought so many people with him? What if one of them fights for control of the body? Will this cause Malkovich to have a nervous breakdown?  Does this explain why some people have auditory hallucinations (voices speaking to them) - because they are listening to the multiple voices Actually in their head? I have a lot more questions, so I'm going to rate the movie a 9/10.

Jacob's Ladder (1990)

There is a movie on this list that is a masterpiece. It's called Jacob's Ladder. This is the horror film I have been waiting for. It's not a slasher film where a crazy guy chases teenagers.  The horror is entirely inside the mind, and you can't escape your own mind. 

You need to be alone, on the couch, wrapped in a blanket in the dark cause that is the best way to watch it. The original story is about this dude named Jacob who has a dream about a ladder (in some versions it's a staircase) that stretches upward into heaven, with angels on the rungs/steps welcoming him. So I knew going into the movie it had to be a dream, meaning there would be several fantastic or unrealistic elements.  It's like Alice in Wonderland where lots of weird things happen but we already know it turns out to be a dream.

The movie is heavy with symbolism.  Jacob tells his girlfriend Jezzie about his children, and she tells them they have "weird names". He tells her that they are biblical names, and her name (Jezzie, short for Jezebel) is biblical too. Jacob is still mourning the death of his young son Gabe, who died before Jacob went to war. 

Jacob starts having weird dreams and hallucinations. He finds out that other members of his platoon have similar issues, and together they go to a lawyer.  This doesn't work, because according to the government, they were never in Vietnam at all. It is really hard to go up against the government.

His greatest ally is his chiropractor, Dr. Louis. If you didn't know, St. Louis is the patron saint of soldiers, sick people, and against the death of children. When Jacob is taken to the scary awful hospital full of deformed people and eyeless nurses, it's Dr. Louis who rescues him. I didn't particularly think the really fast head-shaking people were that scary though.

Jacob keeps trying to find answers to explain away his hallucinations, especially since the other members of his platoon are dying in car explosions and stuff.  He is approached by Michael who explains everything to him. Michael is a hippie chemist/angel who was forced to make psychological drugs for the U.S. Army, specifically one that would increase manic tendencies   Jacob's platoon was unknowingly administered this drug, went crazy, and tried to kill each other.  Jacob doesn't remember much about what happened that night, but he was told by the palm reader that he had already died.

Dr. Louis tells him,  "The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you," he said. "They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and... you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth." So he's spent the entire time being bombarded with these negative and frightening images, that he forgets to look at the positives in his life.  He takes a taxi home, to his real home where his children are and is surprised to see Gabe sitting on the stairway. Gabe takes his hand and leads him up the stairway where his nightmare finally ends.  Movie gets a 10/10.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

I decided the first film I would write about would be the one in the most top lists, 35 to be exact.  But honestly, I can't see what is so great about this movie. Yes, it was a visual treat, but seemed to be just an exercise in showing off the latest special effects technology, which in 2013, isn't much.

The movie starts off with a black intro, in which I thought my laptop was malfunctioning again. So I skipped ahead to the monkey scene, which has nothing at all to do with space, but let's watch it anyway. Suddenly a giant black bar thing appears near the monkeys.  Will this bar be explained? No! Next scene jumps randomly to space!  The movie cover said it was supposed to be a "dramatic film transition". I didn't know they meant "random-ass jump".

But now we get to see space. After all it is a space odyssey.  There is a micro-plot here about an evil computer that kills people. No, not Glados, HAL 9000.  However, the scenes are completely devoid of emotion. Aside from the visual aspect, there is nothing to hold our attention.

After the evil-Hal episode ends, Dave, the guy that HAL famously refuses to open the doors for, flies towards Jupiter. Apparently landing on Jupiter involves a techno laser light show.  Then, Dave appears in a stately 18th century home.  I can't even begin to explain what happens in the next scenes, and I feel the only way to really grasp what's going on is to read the book.  But why would I sit through an almost 3 hour movie if you're going to make me read the book too?

Overall I will give it an A-, because although it's supposed to be the all-amazing film, there is hardly any  plot, nothing is explained, and the pace is slower than I-4 in the afternoon.