Jack Henry's Year in Film - Week 5
This week I got to watch some excellent films, some I’d seen and others I hadn’t. So, this week I’m going to try something new, partially because I could fill a book with all the great things in films like the Godfather but also because I’ve been extremely busy preparing for the trailer release of my own film and haven’t had much writing time. So, this week I’m simply picking a specific scene that stuck out to me and writing a little bit about it.
WEEK 5
MONDAY (1/29) - The Shape of Water - Guillermo del Toro
So, being a huge fan of some of del Toro’s previous films, specifically Pan’s Labyrinth, I went into this film with a lot of excitement. The trailers did not prepare me enough for the bizarre but delightful joy from this unorthodox relationship movie. Now, the scene that stood out to me was neither delightful or joyous so, if you haven’t seen this movie or you have a weak stomach, move on to the next review. Anyways, this scene comes near the end of the movie as Michael Shannon’s character STOP! Real quick, I have to say I adore Michael Shannon. He is easily one of my favorite actors and he is excellent in his role as the villain. GO! Michael Shannon’s character is pursuing Sally Hawkins (who’s also quite excellent) and her amphibian lover. Early in the film, two of Shannon’s fingers get bitten off by the creature but they are able to reattach them. Unfortunately, his fingers don’t take to the reattachment and for the rest of the movie they slowly they start to turn black and ooze pus. Now, Shannon goes to interrogate one of Sally’s coworkers (played by Octavia Spencer) to find out where she’s gone with the fish-man. In an act of intimidation Shannon rips off his black oozy fingers and throws them to the floor. I think I screamed internally. It was this moment of pure gruesome disgust that shifted to appalling satisfaction. In fact, I wanted him to pull his fingers off because, like popping a pimple, there’s sort of a relief that comes afterwards. I don’t know, it was a weird scene that I really liked for a weird movie that I really liked. Incredible cast! Also, please put Michael Stuhlbarg in more things, please!
MY RATING: 8.5/10
TUESDAY (1/30) - The Godfather: Part 1 - Francis Ford Coppola
My scene choice for The Godfather is also a little different than you’d expect. I could easily do the scene where Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey or the climactic “Baptism Scene” but on this viewing there was one scene that really struck me. Right after Sonny Corleone has been killed, Tom Hagen sits down with Vito, played by the excellent Marlon Brando, to tell him the news of his son’s death. Vito, it seems, already knows or at least has an assumption of what’s happened. But when Tom tells him there’s this quick gasp that Vito does and then he goes back to being composed. But in that gasp there is an infinite sadness and heartbreak. It’s so quick and simple but it left me devastated. A chill went down my spine. Brando, in his magnum opus, does’t impress with words or speech but with a quiet gasp.
MY RATING: 10/10 (Check that out! First ten outa ten on these reviews!)
WEDNESDAY (1/31) - Life Itself - Steve James
“Siskel and Ebert give it a TWO THUMBS UP!” I can remember reading that on the back of many of our VHS movies when I was younger. Life Itself is the documentary about Ebert, Roger Ebert that is, a Pulitzer Prize winning writer and film critic who had an incredible lasting impression on the world of film criticism. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be doing this right now if it wasn’t for Ebert. This documentary is very bittersweet as it was filmed during the final months of Ebert’s life but shows the impact of his writing. The scene that really resonated with me is a short interview with Ava DuVernay, a filmmaker I admire and respect. She recalls a memory of meeting Ebert when she was a child and then later having her first feature film reviewed by him. It was incredible touching when she sends him a picture of their meeting and he replies “We were both younger then.”
MY RATING: 9/10
THURSDAY (2/1) - The Apartment - Billy Wilder
Jack Lemmon is a ray of sunshine in the thick fog and rain of New York City and Shirley MacLaine is a breath of fresh air but she’s surrounded by the storm. The Apartment, while labeled as a rom-com, is not really a happy movie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s funny and charming in all the right ways but at it’s core is a film about loneliness. In one of the final scenes of the film Mr. Baxter (Lemmon) reunites for a moment with Miss Kubelik (MacLaine) and they exchange brief pleasantries. Baxter tells Kubelik he’s met someone and motions to another woman standing alone in the lobby. They smile, there’s deep longing and sadness in each others’ eyes, and then say farewell. Kubelik leaves the lobby and Baxter walks toward the woman. But he walks past her; she’s a stranger, just a woman standing alone in the lobby. In fact she was waiting for someone else and then leaves. My only qualm with the film maybe the fact that not to long after this Baxter and Kubelik figure things out and get together; it seemed too quick. I think I would have preferred it if the movie had ended right after that scene. For me it would have fit the film better; lingering in the heartache.
MY RATING: 9/10
FRIDAY (2/2) - The House of Small Cubes - Kunio Kato
The House of Small Cubes, at 12 minutes, is a short film but it’s emotional impact still feels complete. It’s the story of a man living in a house floating above a flooded city. As the waters continue to rise, instead of leaving, he simply builds another story onto the top of his house, smaller and smaller each time. When he accidentally drops his pipe into the water, instead of buying a new one he buys a scuba suit and plunges down to find it. There are many rooms below in the watery depths and in each a memory of past times. As he goes down further and further he sees his late wife, his grandchildren, his daughter getting married. This was a very beautiful short film and I highly recommend it.
MY RATING - 9/10
As I will have to watch a little over 250 movies this year I would greatly appreciate some suggestions. Feel free to leave some in the comment section. Or if you want a recommendation don’t hesitate to ask.