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#11-The Thin Man

Quick Recap: Clyde Wynant, eccentric inventor, has disappeared. His friend Nick Charles, world famous detective,and wife Nora take on the case to help solve the mystery. While searching for Wynant, his lover/secretary is murdered. Wynant becomes suspect number 1 and it is up to Charles to clear his name and find the real killer. There’s also a cute dog. A ridiculously cute dog.

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I don’t like dogs, but this one won me over

Fun(?)Fact: This movie was so popular that it inspired a series of movies centered around Nick and Nora Charles, as well as a radio broadcast and tv show.

My thoughts: In writing about this movie, I think it’s important for me to separate my thoughts into two parts. The first part is the actual mystery of Clyde Wynant. I was mildly interested in who the real murderer was, and I did enjoy the few twists and turns. I especially liked the end of the movie when Charles hosts a dinner party for all of the suspects so that he can reveal the true killer. It was a little over the top, but then again, this is 1930’s cinema.

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Every classic movie needs a spinning newspaper montage

So, mystery aside, the real fun in this movie came from the banter between detective husband and wife, Nick and Nora Charles. I genuinely laughed at their exchanges and I was surprised by how strong their chemistry was together. Nick treated Nora as an equal and as a true friend. It was easy to see how much they loved each other, but also how much they respected and enjoyed each other. The character of Nick Charles is especially interesting. The creation of a brilliant, smart ass detective has been run into the ground. Yet, in this context, it’s refreshing and sincere. In most of the scenes, Charles is drinking heavily, to the point one wonders about his alcoholism. He sobers up immediately once he realizes something about the case and it’s amazing to see such a quick transition.

Final review: 2/5. I wouldn’t watch this again. Nick and Nora were charming and the dog was damn cute, but the mystery was meh. It was interesting the watch the beginning of the detective genre take off, but I wouldn’t want to sit through it again.

Where I watched it: Netflix DVD

Up Next: North by Northwest

 

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#10-Rushmore

Quick recap- This is the story of Max Fischer, an eccentric teenager, who falls in love with a first grade teacher at his prep school. Fischer is involved in practically every extra curricular activity at his school and that hasn’t helped him academically. Once he meets Rosemary Cross,  the teacher, he becomes obsessed. He is also befriended by Herman Blume, an industrialist, who tries to convince Max that Cross isn’t worth it, only later to fall in love with her himself. Fischer is eventually expelled from the school and finds out about Cross and Blume’s relationship. Things get quirky as Blume and Fischer fight each other, but in the end Max stays Max and everyone appreciates his quirkiness even more after watching a performance of a play he had written. All is well.

Fun (?) fact- Rushmore was filmed in Houston. I figured it out part way through the movie because I recognized the METRO busses.

My thoughts: Wes Anderson is one of my favorite directors, so I went into this with high expectations. The first film I saw from his career, The Royal Tenenbaums, is one of my all-time favorite movies. I’m not here to critique all of his work, but I will say that while watching Rushmore, his trademarks seemed even more glaring.

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It bothered me to suddenly become annoyed by these director traits that make me love Anderson in the first place. After the movie, I came to the conclusion that the issue is not Anderson, but myself. I have watched his films out of order. If anything, I should be annoyed by Moonrise Kingdom, not Rushmore. This film was at the very beginning of his career and it is wonderful, in its own way. I was simultaneously annoyed by/adored Max Fischer. He completely won me over by then end. The music also added to the general enjoyment of the movie.

Final review: 5/5. If you haven’t seen anything of Anderson’s yet, don’t start with Moonrise Kingdom. Start here or better yet, go start with Bottle Rocket because I hear it is even better. Watching Rushmore is watching a play of eccentric characters with heart and I love it.

Where I watched it: Netflix DVD

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#6- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

quick recap: This is a flashback story about a man named Francis who goes through a terrifying experience. He goes with his friend to a fair and meets. Dr. Caligari who has a cabinet. Thus the title. Inside the cabinet is a somnambulist (sleepwalker) who can see the future, according to Caligari. Francis’s friend asks the sleepwalker, Cesare, when he will die and is told he will be dead by dawn. This comes true later on as well as a few other strange murders. It is revealed that Cesare is doing the killing, under the guide of Caligari. Francis heads to the local insane asylum to figure out some more information and finds out that Caligari is the director. It is also revealed that he is obsessed with a monk named Caligari who controlled a somnambulist who also murdered. After it is revealed that Cesare is dead, the doctor goes insane and is committed to his own asylum. The end? NO! There is a twist!

Fun (?) fact: This movie introduced the idea of a twist ending in cinema.

My thoughts: The very first thing I noticed about this movie is the set. It feels more like a nightmarish play than a movie.

Beware jagged lines!

In many ways, I felt like everyone was trying too hard to be shocking and scary. The makeup was over the top as well as the expressions. On the other hand, it definitely set the mood. If you eliminate all the dramatic elements, the story itself is akin to a Twilight Zone episode. 92 YEAR OLD SPOILER ALERT: turns out, Francis, Cesare, and his fiancee are all residents at the local asylum and ‘Caligari’ is their doctor. It was just a story! I’m a sucker for twist endings, so this gave the movie some points.

Final review: 3 out of 5. The movie is really short so it doesn’t hurt to check it out. It’s interesting to see the birth of a now common cinematic element, back when no one saw the ending coming. I’m talking to you, Shyamalan.

Where I watched it: Netflix instant

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#5- Intolerance

Quick recap: It’s about intolerance. The end.

Oh, you want more? It’s actually a movie with 4 different stories spanning thousands of years. It’s still about intolerance though. First story is about the fall of Babylon, second is Jesus because why not, third is the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre and the fourth is a modern story about jealous old women. Or something. Did I mention the theme was intolerance? And just in case you thought this would be fun and light hearted, there is a woman rocking the cradle of Humanity in between scenes.

Have to say this creeped me out a little bit

fun (?) fact– This film was DW Griffith’s response to Birth of a Nation because he totally didn’t think it was racist. Interesting to note that this movie does not feature African-Americans either. Lesson learned?

My thoughts– Ok, so this film was a tad bit preachy. I started watching it at 11 at night thinking that I would maybe watch an hour and then go to bed. Somehow I ended up watching the entire 3 1/2 hours. What can I say? This film is impressive on all accounts. Griffith was so detailed for all 4 story lines, even changing the music to reflect the time period. It was also an easy film to get through because the stories are interwoven. When I started getting a little tired of one, the creepy Humanity lady would come on and I would breathe a sigh of relief. I’ll rank the stories by how they kept my interest:

4. Jesus because it’s been over done. It’s also the shortest story so maybe even Griffith felt he was a little preachy.

3. St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre- I knew absolutely nothing about this and read up on it after the movie

2. the modern story- The Dear One (she didn’t have a name) really knows how to act. She is featured in many of Griffith’s films. It was predictable but also a good lesson, even now

1. fall of Babylon- I can’t believe the amount of detail involved! Each uniform looked painstakingly made and the wall of Babylon was most impressive. Plus, the Mountain Girl was amazing. I could have watched her for the entire 3 hours.

Final Review- 5/5 Watch it. I was hesitant going into this movie because I did not like Birth of a Nation but ended up loving it.

where I watched it: Netflix instant

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