Starting off the year with screwball goodness, the one-two Lubitsch punch. You know that the GI is gonna treat you right in 2012 with greatness like that right off the bat.
I’ll be a little honest about this blog entry before we get going, my brain is a little fried and frazzled right now, partially due to my first day off in 8 days (most of those being 12 hour plus) and also due to just finishing the most emotional Zelda game yet. But you don’t want to hear about my taxing work life or the month and a half long stint of time it took me to get through Skyward Sword, you want the filmic goods. I will do my best to deliver them, just give me a minute to catch my breath already, 2012!
Due to my cinematic upbringing as a whelp, weaned on the metaphorical teats of Howard Hawks and Frank Capra, I am no stranger to the screwball comedy. However, after seeing “Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife” I am ashamed to say there was a Lubitsch-sized gap in my education. Simply put: this was a divine gift of comedy that had me hooked from the department store scene. The sight gag of the president without pajama pants assured me I was in for an hour and a half of pure comedy gold. Gary Cooper’s deadpan is a joy to behold, and plays perfectly against Claudette Colbert, who is a new screwball gem for me to uncover in years to come.
I was once told I looked like a young David Niven. History will be the judge.
Another tip of my hat to this film for the only time the name “Shakespeare” uttered aloud has put me into peals of laughter. Peals I tell you! This had only one negative effect on me: it made me regret I didn’t watch “Trouble in Paradise” last week and urgue you in no uncertain terms to get your asses down to the GI! The Oscars aren’t announced yet and nothing new is coming out this weekend, so give yourself a break from 2011 and take a trip 80 years into the past to one of the golden ages of comedy. Resolution time: go to the GI more in 2012!
If you need something on the opposite end of the spectrum, late nights are back with “Silent House.” And by opposite end of the spectrum, I mean the 2011 Uruguay (that’s right, Uruguay) continuous shot horror film that is truly groundbreaking. Yes, 2002’s incredible “Russian Ark” and other films have used the continuous shot, but I for one have never seen a horror movie do it. Yes, some lengthy shots in films like the “Rec” series have done much to unnerve me and keep me on the edge of my seat, but to have a film that seems like it might be becoming a ghost story through increasingly clever camera angles and reveals, and seamless switches in and out of POV. The production value is strikingly high, as multiple types and sources of light are handled in both interior and exterior shots throughout the continuous take. Uruguay did submit it to the Academy Awards, so they have at least my vote to get nominated.
Color corrected and precisely lit
And last but certainly not least, please give KARP a gander if you didn’t catch it a couple months back. KEXP and other Seattle media gave the doc the thumbs up, and enough of you music-loving patrons have garnered the film a repeat performance. It will be playing at 7 and 9 on Wed the 11th, and the director will be in attendance again, so if you missed it the first time, there’s no time like the present to make good on your past mistakes. More GI in 2012!
—blogmeister, dan
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.