Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: March 2019

3/31/2019

Fatal Attraction (1987) - Stepping out has dire consequences in Lyne's spectacular blockbuster

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The iconic poster for Adrian Lyne's Fatal Attraction, which effectively combines the erotic with the fatal

A successful New York lawyer, who is bored in his marriage, steps out of it to enjoy another woman from his office. Unfortunately, she turns out to have a screw loose!

Fatal Attraction is written by James Dearden (Rogue Trader (1999)), with script doctoring by Nicholas Meyer (Time after Time (1979)), and directed by great English filmmaker Adrian Lyne (Foxes (1980)).
Michael Douglas (The In-Laws (2003)) somehow manages to get his lead, who appears an unscrupulous prick for large parts of the film, to become deeply sympathetic in spite of this, which requires a great, rare actor. He is helped in the task by Glenn Close (The Safety of Objects (2001)), who is spectacularly psychotic as Alex, the character who became every (straight) cheating man's worst nightmare with Fatal Attraction. She is outstanding. Also good is Anne Archer (Short Cuts (1993)) as the poor, wronged housewife.
Lyne stages the erotic thriller carefully and shows an admirable knack for suspense and visually oppressive atmosphere. Fatal Attraction is a tremendous, - and implicitly totally conservative, (which was fought over by, among others, Close and the studio), major hit.

Watch a clip from the film here

Cost: 14 mil. $
Box office: 320.1 mil. $
= Blockbuster (returned 22.86 times its cost)
[Fatal Attraction premiered 16 September (New York) and runs 119 minutes. It is based on Dearden's 50 minute film Diversion (1980). Close consulted 3 psychologists to get insight into her character's incestuous background and resulting borderline personality disorder. Shooting took place in New York from September - October 1986 with reshoots in July 1987. The original ending has Alex slashing her own throat, making her suicide appear a murder by Douglas' character: Close fought against the more vengeful ending eventually in the film and successfully attained the self-mutilation aspect in it to underscore Alex's self-destructive tendencies. The film opened #1 to a 7.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it maintained its #1 status for the following 7 weeks, before spending the next 5 weeks still in the top 5 (#2-#4-#4-#3-#5), ending up with a gigantic 156.6 mil. $ gross (48.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 20.7 mil. $ (6.5 %) and Germany with 20.5 mil. $ (6.4 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2.5/4 star review, translating to two notches harder than this one. The film was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Actress to Cher in Moonstruck, Supporting Actress (Archer) to Olympia Dukakis in Moonstruck, Director to Bernardo Bertolucci for The Last Emperor, Editing also to The Last Emperor, which also took Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay (Mark Peploe, Bertolucci). The film was also nominated for 4 Golden Globes, won 1/3 BAFTA noms, was nominated for 2 David di Donatello awards, a Grammy, won a National Board of Review award and many other honors. Lyne returned with Jacob's Ladder (1990). Douglas returned in Wall Street (1987), Close in a voice performance in Gandahar (1988), in Stones for Baharra (1988, TV movie) and theatrically in Dangerous Liaisons (1988). Dearden adapted the film into a stage play in London in 2014. Fatal Attraction is certified fresh at 78 % with a 6.74/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Fatal Attraction?

3/26/2019

Top 10: Best Disney movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

1. Finding Nemo (2003) - Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich

2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi/Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017) - Rian Johnson

3. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Andrew Adamson

4. The Little Mermaid (1989) - Ron Clements, John Musker

5. Brave (2012) - Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell

6. Fantasia (1940) - Walt Disney + 12 directors

7. Saving Mr. Banks (2013) - John Lee Hancock

8. Toy Story 3 (2010) - Lee Unkrich

9. The Jungle Book (2016) - Jon Favreau

Flight of the Conchords - season 1 (2007) - Oddball musical comedy with NZ favorites a hit

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+ Best Musical Comedy of the Year + Best New TV-Series of the Year

Leads Brett and Jemaine resemble bobbleheads dumped out of the sky on this appropriate poster for season 1 of James Bobin, Jemaine Clement and Brett McKenzie's Flight of the Conchords

Duo band mates and best friends Jemaine and Brett are New Zealander expats in New York City, where they attempt to make it big with their odd folk rock group Flight of the Conchords. - Largely without luck, and their life is marred by humorous poverty, as when Jemaine decides to move out of their shared apartment, - and into a cleaning closet (episode 5: Sally Returns).

Flight of the Conchords is created by James Bobin (Muppets Most Wanted (2014), director) and stars Brett McKenzie (Austenland (2013), actor) and Jemaine Clement (Divorce (2016, TV-series), who play fictionalized versions of themselves.
Kristen Schaal (The Hotwives of Orlando (2014, TV-series)) is a hilarious find as the group's married, loony and only die-hard fan.
The show also relies on a very varying bag of comedic songs, often based solidly in the creators strong preference for very obscure topics to riff on, black comedy style. There are wonderful reggae and synth-based songs,
The male-centered, nerdy-black humor sometimes nears the edge of what is still actually funny for other, not New Zealander people, (as in episode 7: Drive By, where the pair face a racist fruit-seller in Aziz Ansari (Funny People (2009))), and the series does tire a bit in energy and ideas during its run, (it begins to be felt around episode 9: What Goes on Tour.) The last episode (12: The Third Conchord) features the Conchords splitting up for a short while to work with two other musicians, who are regrettably so irritating that they dispel most of the fun. - Though McKenzie does an 'angry dance solo', which makes up some for it.
Flight of the Conchords delights as a quirky cultural comedy filled with moments of absurdity, deadpan and verbal comedy, served with an infectious enthusiasm and charming eye-twinkling.

Best episodes:

1: Sally - Written by Bobin, Clement, McKenzie; directed by Bobin
Brett and Jemaine attend a party, where Jemaine flirts with Sally, who is Brett's ex. After a hilarious double date, she decides to end things prematurely. Featuring uproarious songs of weeping and a future with robots, which is the song used for the band's first music video.

3. Mugged - Written by Bobin, Clement, McKenzie; directed by Bobin
Brett flees, when he and Jemaine get mugged, while Jemaine winds up in jail together with the good-natured mugger for a couple of days. The Conchords sing of the tough life in the streets and finally reconcile with the mugger.

8: Girlfriends - Written by Eric Kaplan (Young Sheldon (2018-19)); directed by Bobin
Jemaine and Brett find a couple of dames out on the town, and Brett scores one of them only to find that she is only out for sex! Traditional gender roles are reversed, as he is rudely discarded. Conchords manager Murray Hewitt (Rhys Darby (A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017, TV-series))) has 2,500 CD's made by "Quincy Jones' brother", which turn out to be mostly sawdust. Hilarious.

10. New Fans - Written by Duncan Sarkies (Scarfies (1999)); directed by Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows (2014))
The Conchords play a world music gig and find two new fans, who they bring to a dinner at super-fan Mel's place, which develops into an LSD night that ends in a seemingly failed threesome. Sidesplitting fun.

11. The Actor - Written by Damon Beesley, Iain Morris (The Inbetweeners Movie (2011), both); directed by Michael Patrick Jann (Atypical (2017, TV-series))

The band hire a dry-cleaner/actor to cheer up manager Murray, who responds by giving the stranger a 2 mil. $ record deal, thus again losing lots of money. With Lord of the Rings-themed song. Very funny.

Related post:

2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

Get an idea of what the show is and who Brett and Jemaine are from this trailer for the first season

Cost: Unknown - reportedly very low
Box office: None - TV-series
= Uncertain
[Flight of the Conchords originally aired from 17 June - 2 September on HBO, lasting 12 episodes of around 26 minutes, totaling ca. 312 minutes. It is based on the Conchords' same-titled 2005 BBC radio series. Shooting took place in New York. IMDb users have rated the show so highly, it currently sits at #133 on its TV Top 250, between Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-06) and Yes Minister (1980-84). The show returned after a prolonged break with season 2 in January 2009. Clement returned in Eagle vs Shark (2007), McKenzie in Pantsed (2008, short) and The Drinky Crow Show (2008, TV-series), also with Clement. Flight of the Conchords season 1 is certified fresh at 95 % with an 8.12/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Flight of the Conchords season 1?

3/21/2019

The Fisher King (1991) - Gilliam and Co. win with unpredictable story with major heart and amazing Williams

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A long, loony tagline and a wonderfully intense photo of the two stars make up this beloved poster for Terry Gilliam's The Fisher King

A New York radio host, who is smarter than his own good, becomes implicitly guilty of a massacre and descends into depression, until he one day meets one of the relatives of a victim of the massacre.

The Fisher King is written by Richard LaGravanese (The Comedian (2016)) and directed by Minnesotan master filmmaker Terry Gilliam (Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)), whose 6th feature it is.
Robin Williams (The Best of Times (1986)) gives one of his all-time most touching and intense performances here in Gilliams' lively, extraordinary, incredible film. Mercedes Ruhl (Bad Apple (2004, TV movie)) is also formidable in The Fisher King; her couple's scenes with Jeff Bridges (R.I.P.D. (2013)) are beautifully observed. Furthermore Michael Jeeter (Bank Robber (1993)) is memorable in a supporting part.
The Fisher King is an emotional ride that one remembers!

Terry Gilliam: The Brothers Grimm (2005) - Gilliam's European misadventure sort-of entertains

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) - Depp's Thompson lives and breathes in Gilliam's outrageous, drug-fueled masterpiece

12 Monkeys (1995) or, What's the Time?

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 24 mil. $
Box office: 41.8 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertain
[The Fisher King premiered 10 September (Venice Film Festival, Italy) and runs 137 minutes. Shooting took place in New York and Los Angeles, California from May - August 1990. Gilliam devised the Grand Central Station waltz scene himself. The film opened in 10 theaters to a 311k$ first weekend in North America, peaking at #1 the following week, which it retained for another 2 weeks, before spending one week as #3 and one as #4, before leaving the top 5, grossing 41.8 mil. $ domestically. The film would have to gross 60 mil. $ to break even, which it likely did, but this is strictly speculation. It was nominated for 5 Oscars, winning one, for Best Supporting Actress (Ruhl, her only ever nomination). It lost Actor (Williams) to Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, Art/Set Decoration to Bugsy, Score (George Fenton) to Alan Menken for Beauty and the Beast and Original Screenplay to Callie Khouri for Thelma & Louise. It won 2/5 Golden Globe nominations, was nominated for 2 BAFTAs, won 3 awards in Venice and a bunch of other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to 3 notches harder than this one. Gilliam returned with Twelve Monkeys (1995). Williams returned in Hook (1991), Bridges in American Heart (1992). The Fisher King is certified fresh at 83 % with a 6.96/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Fisher King?

3/20/2019

F for Fake (1973) - Welles' eccentric fakery meditation is a trip

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Legendary filmmaker Orson Welles seems to be inspecting an invisible diamond, while a beautiful woman in a flying blue dress appears beside the title on this mysterious poster for Welles, Gary Graver, Oja Kodar and François Reichenbach's F for Fake

Master Wisconsinite filmmaker Orson Welles (Touch of Evil (1958)) wants to tell us of the master of forging great paintings, Elmyr de Hory, who lives in Ibiza and is a very charming and eloquent man.

F for Fake is written by Welles and co-director Oja Kodar (Jaded (1989)) and directed by Welles, Gary Graver (Veronica 2030 (1999)) and François Reichenbach (Do You Hear the Dogs Barking?/¿No Oyes Ladrar los Perros? (1975)). It is also about fake biographer Clifford Irving, Howard Hughes, Picasso and Welles himself (of course). The film is a mix of documentary, experimental film, biography and fakery, which some, for lack of a better term, have coined a 'film essay'.
F for Fake is relayed in a somewhat fatiguing Godardesque New Wave editing style, where the image is frozen about twice a minute, (to more or less of an effect.) It is a film of and with cock-and-bull stories, artistic eccentricity and critique of the hunt for phonies and imitators. Welles clearly identifies with the outsider figure Elmy. F for Fake is rambling at times, something of a curiosity item and probably mostly for cineastes and Welles-fans.

Related posts:

Orson Welles: Catch-22 (1970) - Nichols wages war on war with ensemble cast in absurdist adaptation (supporting actor)
Casino Royale (1967) - The packed spy spoof frontrunner, a film very much of its time (starring actor)
Mr. Arkadin/Confidential Report (1955) or, The Mysterious Past of the Great Gregory Arkadin
Citizen Kane (1941) - The cold elephant on the shelf

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[F for Fake premiered in September (San Sebastián Film Festival, Spain) and runs 88 minutes. Shooting took place in France, including Paris, and in California and Nevada from 1972 - 1973. The details are mired in doubt, as all involved are unreliable in relation to statements concerning the film, which took its basis in fakery very seriously. The film was not released before 1975 and 1976 in most of its few release countries. Elmyr de Hory committed suicide in December 1976, upon learning that the Spanish authorities had agreed to turn him over to the French, (his death has, however, also been doubted.) The film sold 182k admissions in France, the only box office fact known about the film, which is unlikely to have covered its cost alone. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, equal to its rating here. Welles returned with one last regular feature, the posthumous The Other Side of the Wind (2018). Graver returned with And When She Was Bad... (1973). Kodar returned with Jaded (1989). Reichenbach returned with Hildegard Knef and Her Songs (1975, documentary) and with feature Do You Hear the Dogs Barking (1975). F for Fake is certified fresh at 88 % with a 7.79/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of F for Fake?

3/19/2019

The Counterfeiters/Die Fälscher (2007) - German-Austrian film relates an incredible true WWII story with depth

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+ Best Austrian Movie of the Year + Best War Movie of the Year

A man sits on a beach with a box and some unknown thoughts, staring at the sea, on this appealing poster for Stefan Ruzowitzky's The Counterfeiters

Nazis capture one of the world's best counterfeiters in Berlin, and during the horrors of WWII they see opportunities in him; his artistic talent and later knack for counterfeiting is put to use.

The Counterfeiters is written and directed by great Austrian filmmaker Stefan Ruzowitzky (Cold Hell/Die Hölle (2017)), based on the memoir by Adolf Burger, The Devils Workshop (1983). The film tells an incredible true story, which shows another side to Holocaust, the concentration camps and the Nazis: The hero (Karl Markovics (The Crown Prince/Kronprinz Rudolf (2006, TV movie))) is a Jew as we have often been conditioned to regard them: He is criminal, an opportunist, and good with money.
Good, layered characters raise the film's evocative moral question of idealism and martyrdom vs. one's right or possibly even obligation to do everything to preserve one's life in the face of war. There is good acting in the leads, even with German representation of Nazis, which isn't one-sided but has depth.
The Counterfeiters is shot on sometimes a bit grainy film, and at my screening there was a bit of confusion about a woman who appears in the beginning and ending of the film. It also has camp prisoners that sometimes don't look like 'the real deal'. SPOILER And what happened to those many millions of pounds that were created? The film left me curious as to their effect.
Still these are minor sidenotes to a terrific film.

Related post:

2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 6.25 mil. $
Box office: 18.8 mil. $
= Box office success (returned 3.00 times its cost)
[The Counterfeiters premiered 10 February (Berlin International Film Festival, Germany) and runs 98 minutes. Shooting took place in France, Germany, Monaco and in Vienna, Austria from March - May 2006. Ruzowitzky reportedly consulted closely with Burger to attain authenticity for the film. It opened #46 to an 87k $ first weekend in 8 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #21 and in 170 theaters (different weeks), grossing 5.4 mil. $ (28.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 3.8 mil. $ (20.2 %) and main production country Austria with 1.8 mil. $ (9.6 %). The film won the Best Foreign Film Oscar for Austria. It also won 1/7 nominations for German Film awards, a National Board of Review award and other honors. Ruzowitzky returned with Arabic action TV movie Almahabba Awards Festival TV Commercial (2008) and theatrically with Lilly the Witch: The Dragon and the Magic Book/Hexe Lilli: Der Drache und das Magische Buch (2009). Markovics returned in 3 TV movies and a short film anthology before he returned in a conventional film, which also was Lilly the Witch: The Dragon and the Magic Book. The Counterfeiters is certified fresh at 94 % with a 7.76/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Counterfeiters?

3/17/2019

The Celebration/Festen (1998) - Vinterberg's charged, stirring Dogme drama masterpiece

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+ 3rd Best Movie of the Year

+ Best Drama of the Year + Breakthrough Actor of the Year: Ulrich Thomsen

Four of the film's leads evocative faces clash in a broken mirror in this stark and intriguing poster for Thomas Vinterberg's The Celebration

Christian is going to his father's 60th birthday celebration on their family's castle hotel. With him he carries two speeches, which are going to change his family forever.

The Celebration is written by Mogens Rukov (Reconstruction (2003)) and its Danish master co-writer/director Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt/Jagten (2012)), whose 3rd feature it is, as well as his best film overall. It represented a kick in the ass on Danish cinema, Danish cultural centrism and Danish traditions in general, which the film - and us as audiences - invariably laugh at. (It is the first of the so-called Dogme films: Read about some of the wave's specifications below.) The humor in this heavily themed drama is liberating and pivotal, saving The Celebration from becoming a depressing acquaintance.
It is fantastically put together script and editing-wise, impressively shot on a simple Sony Handycam (by cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (Kursk (2018)).) The Celebration is full of great ideas, which simply work, and great Danish actors who give career-defining performances: Paprika Steen (The Substitute/Vikaren (2007)), Ulrich Thomsen (Centurion (2010)) as Christian, Thomas Bo Larsen (A Second Chance/En Chance Til (2014)), Henning Moritzen (Roser og Persille (1993)), Helle Dolleris (Karla og Jonas (2010)), Trine Dyrholm (Fluerne på Væggen (2005)) and Klaus Bondam (Lykkevej (2003)), who is wonderful as the party's German toastmaster.
The Celebration is funny, gripping and intense, a fiery drama that booms with energy.

Thomas Vinterberg: Far from the Madding Crowd (2015) - Vinterberg's plush but grating English adaptation

The Hunt/Jagten (2012) - Vinterberg's strongest film since 1998 is a reversed Celebration

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Submarino (2010) - Vinterberg's elegant, downbeat Copenhagen-set social realism drama
Dear Wendy (2004) - Vinterberg and Von Trier's unpopular, gun-themed mega-flop

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 1.3 mil. $
Box office: 1.6 mil. $ (North America only); gross likely exceeds 5.6 mil. $
= Big hit (likely returned in excess of 4.3 times its cost)
[The Celebration premiered in May (Cannes Film Festival, in competition) and runs 105 minutes. The inspiration for the film was a radio program in which a man told about his experiences coming from an incestuous family. - The man was later revealed to have invented the whole story. Shooting took place in Zealand, Denmark. It was the first film to follow the 1995 Dogme manifesto, which detailed that films should be made according to several rules, barring non-diegetic music, sound editing, elaborate setups and crediting the filmmaker. The film opened #52 to a 50k $ first weekend in 28 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #41, only decreasing in theater number, and grossed 1.6 mil. $. In its production country Denmark the film sold impressive 403k tickets, amassing approximately 4 mil. $. Its performance in other markets is not known. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to two notches harder than this one. The film was Denmark's annual entry for the Oscars, but it was not nominated. It was nominated for a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, won 2/2 Bodil awards (Danish film critics' award), the Jury Prize in Cannes, was nominated for a César award, won 1/3 European Film award nominations, an Independent Spirit award, 7/7 Robert awards (Denmark's Oscar) and many other honors. It has been adapted to the stage. Vinterberg returned with 4 video and TV credits before his theatrical return with little-seen Canadian indie The Third Lie (2000). Thomsen returned in Angel of the Night/Nattens Engel (1998); Larsen in I Wonder Who's Kissing You Now (1998); Moritzen in 4 TV credits before Her i Nærheden (2000); and Dyrholm in A Regular Thing/Kys, Kærlighed og Kroner (1998, short), Taxa (1997-99) and theatrically in In China They Eat Dogs/I Kina Spiser De Hunde (1999). The Celebration is fresh at 92 % with an 8.09/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Celebration?