I’ve seen a bunch of interesting movies in the past three weeks or so. Here’s my thoughts on some of them.

Mongol (2008; Sergei Bodrov)

I was interested in this movie for two reasons: Asano Tadanobu and the fact that it was a joint-venture between Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan (I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actual Mongolian or Kazakh movie before so, I hopped on this opportunity). I was slightly disappointed with the film. I thought I was going to see an epic war movie with an asian edge and stylization to it with a knockout performance from Asano portraying the great conquerer Genghis Khan. Instead what I got was a Braveheart knock-off with a mediocre performance who’s only highlight is that a Japanese actor plays a role entirely in Mongolian. My main complaint with the film is the pacing of the story. The bulk of the story takes place in Genghis’ early-life. Once we finally get to Genghis as an older man the story is so rushed to fit in all the important stuff that happens during this time, that it feels like we are flipping through the story 20 pages at a time (and sometimes skipping 50 page chunks).

I would not call this a good movie by any means. I kept checking my watch throughout the film to see how much longer we had left, it was that type of movie. But I have to say it was very interesting to be offered a glimpse into ancient Mongolian culture. As a note of differing opinion: my friends that I brought to the movie said that they enjoyed it and that it was a “good call” by me to go see it. So what do I know?

Army of Shadows (1969; Jean-Pierre Melville)

Jean-Pierre Melville is high in the ranks of elite French filmmakers during the new wave movement. His film Le Samourai has been a major influence amongst several hitman/gangster films of the past 25 years including John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow series and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. While Le Samourai may very well be his best film, Army of Shadows is his most personal film. It is Melville’s film portrayal of the men and women of the French Resistance.

An Alsatian Jew himself, Melville fought back against the Nazi invaders in French resistance armys and the French underground. Therefore if anyone knows this material best it is Melville. Many of the characters in the film are based on real people that Melville knew are at one point was acquanted with and this is probably why the characters seem so true to life. They are not over-the-top stereotypes, they are stoic and thoughtful and full of life, just like real people. The film stands apart from our history lessons about the French Resistance because the film shows that these resistance fighters were real men and women from all walks of life, in the parlance of our times: these freedom fighters were real people. I think that is something that is particularly difficult to convey in any medium aside from film and literature. Don’t get this film wrong, it is a war film, but not your typical war film that is about the actual war going on. Instead it is a study on how the ongoing war affects an entire country worth of people. Go see this movie if you want a history lesson.

The DVD: A note about the DVD. A really nice Criterion release. The blue packaging goes well with the blue-dominated color scheme of the film. The cover design is simple yet the hidden swastika makes it very catchy. The transfer is clear and the although the colors are not magnificent (I don’t think they were meant to be) it is the contrast that is beautiful in this transfer. There are scenes that are shot in complete darkness and on the DVD (in a dark room) you can just barely make out the silhouette of our main character in one specific shot. This is just the way Melville intended. The special features are great as well. There is a film comprised of newsreel footage straight from the streets of the French resistance fighting the Nazis and the footage is outstanding. There are some interviews and lots of insight regarding Melville and his method. Definitely worth the buy and the watch.

Young Mr. Lincoln (1939; John Ford)

I used to be a self professed non-fan of classic films (pre-1950s) but this film really got caught me off guard. I saw it on the shelves and noticed that it was a film about the greatest president in the history of these glorious United States. Lately I have been getting more interested by American history and so when I saw this movie I decided that I had to give it a shot. Only later did I find out that the actor who plays Lincoln is none other than the great Henry Fonda. In the photo on the cover you could not tell that it was Fonda, it really looked like Lincoln! Those are some well made prosthetics. The film is not boring one bit.

The story follows young Lincoln a fresh-faced lawyer who stands up to protect two brothers convicted of murdering a local man in a drunken brawl. Henry Fonda’s Lincoln is such a heroic character. He uses logic, intelligence, reason and a natural understanding of his fellow man to communicate with the people and eventually (SPOILER!!!!)….. get his men off the hook. This is a really great film that transports you back to early America and offers a glimpse into the formative years of one of the most important men in American history.

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964; Byron Haskin)

This was a fun retro space movie that apparently was very difficult to find a copy of until this brand new Criterion release. For many people this film brings them back to their childhood sitting in the den with a TV dinner in their lap taking in some Mars adventure. For me it was just campy. I enjoyed the movie though, it was very cool. The production design was interesting, the special effects cheesy and the costumes were comedic. I enjoyed the monkey and the aliens. A fun movie to get high and laugh at. The DVD is also very nice, as one can expect from Criterion.

2001: A Space Odyssey [Blu-Ray) (1968; Stanley Kubrick)

If you have a blu-ray player (aka PS3) get this! There is nothing else to say.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972; Misumi Kenji)

I certainly watched the first installment of the Lone Wolf and Cub series enough times before I decided to move onto this, the second chapter in the Lone Wolf series. In this chapter we find Ogami Itto and his child Daigoro on the road to vengeance amidst several groups of adversaries: the female assassins, the Yagyu spies, and the feared three brothers, nicknamed “Gods of Death”. While the plot is a bit lacking in this film, let us remind ourselves that this is a film who’s values lay more on action sequences over story and plot. There are a handful of great action scenes in the film and I would say that the gore is kicked up a notch from the previous installment. There’s a head splitting scene. Theres a scene where a bunch of Japanese chicks slice pieces of face and fingers off of a ninja. There’s blood spurts. There’s dismembered feet. There’s even a slashed titty. That’s right, a slashed titty (Ichi style). My favorite part is when the Lone Wolf and Cub are traversing the country-side and they encounter several female assassins. As they battle the leader she pulls several tricks on them. But it all culminates to some cheesy camera tricks where she seems to fly out of her kimono dress and then procedes to run away from the battle (backwards) in jumpcuts. You need to see it to believe it. So go see it.

That’s all for now. I’ve seen more movies lately but these are the ones I feel are worth discussing. I’m going to see The Big Lebowski in Cosford Cinema tomorrow night and I can’t wait. I wonder what the crowd is going to be like. It will be really interesting to watch Lebowski since I haven’t seen it in months (unusual for me) and I just finished Chandler’s The Big Sleep. So maybe I’ll have some new insight into this great film for tomorrows viewing. Until next time…