Movies You May Have Missed: 8/23/08
“I want a pet monkey. A spider monkey…a pet.” - David Lynch in Lynch
It’s a slow weekend for news and I’m a long way off from having something more substantial to post so here’s an early look at some Movies You May Have Missed that are coming to DVD on Tuesday.
Lynch (2007) *** 1/2
Here’s what I said about the documentary Lynch when I saw it at AFI Fest last November:
Directed and edited by one of David Lynch’s long time assistants (going by the pretentious nom de plume ‘blackANDwhite’), Lynch is a non-linear, impressionistic look at the director recorded during the making of Inland Empire.
Granted complete access, the cameras capture Mr. Lynch on the set working with Laura Dern, behind the scenes recording his amusing weather reports for www.davidlynch.com, regaling his staff with odd anecdotes, talking about the joys of transcendental meditation, photographing Polish factories, participating in set design and working on art in his L.A. home. What emerges is a fascinating portrait of the man and his creative process. Like Lynch’s own films, it’s often vague, elusive and sometimes creepy. As a pure documentary, I’m not sure how successful it is. It’s kind of random and pretentious, but for fans I think it’s a must-see. There are a number of surprising glimpses into Lynch’s process and especially how Inland Empire came together…or very nearly didn’t. If anything, it made me appreciate my favorite movie of 2006 all the more. Buy: DVD
Son of Rambow (2008) *** 1/2
As I said in my original review, “Son of Rambow is a charming, funny look at friendship and imagination through the eyes of two kids who’re at an age when anything seems possible and everything seems amazing.” From Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), it’s the story of two boys in a small town in England in the 1980s who decide to film their own sequel to Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo. It’s a little rough around the edges and undisciplined, but it’s hard not to succumb to its charms.
Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? (2008)
After effectively establishing the obvious in Super Size Me (Lots of Big Macs are bad for you), Morgan Spurlock returns with another documentary - and I use the term ‘documentary’ loosely. Spurlock seems to amplify all of the worst traits of Michael Moore (glibness and a propensity for gimmickry) minus the genuine desire to illuminate. Based on reviews, the results might be amusing, but that’s about as far as it goes. Buy: DVD
Chicago 10 (2008)
Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) tells the story of the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention through archival footage and animation with a voice cast that includes Hank Azaria, Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo, Amy Ryan, Roy Scheider, Liev Schreiber and Jeffrey Wright. Buy: DVD
Filed under: DVD
Tags: Amy Ryan, blackANDwhite, Brett Morgen, Chicago 10, David Lynch, Garth Jennings, Hank Azaria, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Lynch, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Spurlock, Nick Goldsmith, Nick Nolte, Roy Scheider, Son of Rambow, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden
Related Posts: - Sight & Sound’s Top 10 Films of 2007
- How Many Lynches Does it Take to Open a Polish Art Center?
- DVD Finally Finds ‘Lost Highway’
- Make Believe, Not War: Son of Rambow Online
- AFI Fest 2007: Final
I never got around to seeing LYNCH, but definitely want to. He’s one of my very favorite directors.
I really enjoyed SON OF RAMBOW, it’s a sweet little charmer.
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN, on the other hand, is one of the worst documentaries I’ve ever seen. You hit the nail on the head by saying he’s all the worst traits of Michael Moore. It’s a totally unilluminating doc that is more about Spurlock than his actual subject. The whole thing is built around a totally unnecessary subplot about his wife’s pregnancy.
Lynch is quite terrific. Interestingly, I just watched Inland Empire again earlier today and loved it even more than ever.
I agree with Matthew not only about Lynch being a favorite director, but also Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?, which was awful.
I cannot wait to see “Son of Rambow,” have been looking forward to that one forever, and “Lynch” sounds interesting too.
SON OF RAMBOW was indeed a perceptive charmer, and a sure pick-up on DVD.
I deliberately avoided OSAMA BIN LADEN based on the terrible reviews across the board (glad LIC has corroborated this) and thought the Lunch was worthwhile, as Craig contends. By the way I agree with Alexander on INLAND EMPIRE, which I ranked in the top-half-dozen films of 2006.
This is the week of the Criterion two-disc SALO release. I bought it on Friday night at Kim’s while seeing MAOMMA’S MAN at the Angelika. Some purists are outraged that there is a 25 second scene (which contains a brief literary reference) is missing. That brief snippet, purportedly, will be included in the upcoming BFI Region 2 release, but it probably be overkill to re-invest.
The package is astonishing. There are three documentaries: the first, “Salo: Yesterday and Today, a 33 minute documentary featuring interviews with director Pier Paolo Pasolini, actor-filmaker Jean-Claude Biette, and Pasolini friend Ninetto Davoli; second, “Fade to Black,” a 23 minute documentary featuring directors Bernardo Bertolucci, Catharine Breillat (who directed one of the years best films, THE LAST MISTRESS), and John Maybury, as well as scholar David Forgacs. And then there’s “The End of Salo,” a 40 minute documentary about the film’s production.
Transfer-wise, the film hasn’t looked as good since it played in theatres in 1976.
I wish that Lynch was a little bit better of a movie. It was a unique opportunity to really illuminate the mind of the director but it only went so far.
Still, it was entertaining and interesting.
Sam I’ll probably finally be watching Salo. I’ve never seen it, but it’s one of those movies that probably needs to be seen once.
I’m surprised Nick that SoR didn’t play in SA. It opened in England before it opened in the USA
I appreciate the shout-out for my pretentious cousin, Nom de Plume, who — despite historic name recognition — hasn’t yet established an identifiable writing style.
Why all the negativity for Where In the World . . . ? I enjoyed it. Granted, it’s not the deep, probing documentary that many of us might prefer, but I found it entertaining and well-suited for those individuals (and there are plenty of them) who don’t follow politics (or film) that closely. I don’t feel that the subplot involving Spurlock’s wife and her pregnancy is unnecessary or superfluous. It’s there to demonstrate the relevance of world affairs to Americans who don’t relate to much (besides NFL football) that occurs more than 25 miles beyond their travel route between home, work and the inlaws.
Because I feel Spurlock has talent as well as popular appeal, I’d like to see him do something more in-depth, but in the meantime this latest effort ultimately clocks in on the plus side — even though it may not carry the strongest appeal to the more sophisticated filmgoers and politicos who visit this site.
It sounds Pierre like your expectations were modest and you were content to be mildly entertained with just a bit of an informational edge.
Craig, I don’t think I had any expectations going in. Different films have differing appeal to different audiences. The film Spurlock made apparently does not appeal strongly to those of us here, but I think it has value for a different audience. Because it doesn’t appeal to most of us here doesn’t mean it’s bad — to paraphrase the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, it’s not better, not worse — just different.
That’s sort of what I was getting at…except with different words that weren’t as good.
Osama and Chicago 10 got two of the lowest documentary grades I’ve handed out, which is saying something since documentaries don’t have to work too hard to earn an A- or A in my book.
Seriously, they must be pretty bad.