038. August

038. (02 Feb) August (2011, Eldar Rapaport) 55



Despite an obviously low budget, August is incredibly stylish. Eldar Rapaport clearly understands how to photograph his subjects. His film exists almost out of time, feeling more like a '40s romance than a contemporary gay film. Consider how he photogrpahs his leads smoking; the habit hasn't looked this sexy since Tom Ford's A Single Man.

Rapaport has an obvious asset in Adrian Gonzalez. The guy could scarcely be more photogenic and he plainly understands how to act to the camera in a way the other actors don't fully grasp. Murray Bartlett isn't a liability, and he and Gonzalez have an interesting dynamic together. When they kiss in the final reel, it feels as though this is the moment the film's been building to all along.

Daniel Dugan is problematic. As he's at the center of the love triangle between two better-looking, more interesting men, the whole premise regularly feels inexplicable. Only Rapaport's ability to create and sustain sexual tension keeps Dugan from weighing the film down entirely.

Rapaport is hardly a genius, but he has a grasp on the medium that makes him an exciting emerging gay director. I'm concerned his influence, as shown by his color palette and the Spanish-infused score, is too heavily based on Almodovar. He also has clear difficulties constructing a timeline. Middling editing does no favors for the film's pace; character relationships and the course of events are ill-defined. Nevertheless, Rapaport is one to watch.

037. Chillerama

037. (31 Jan) Chillerama (2011, Adam Green, Joe Lynch, Adam Rifkin & Tim Sullivan) 52



Imbalanced in the way most anthology films are, Chillerama actually leans more toward good than most. "The Diary of Anne Frankenstein" is the clear standout, so ridiculously clever and edgy it's delightful it even exists. "I Was a Teenage Werebear" is homoerotic and a cute jab at '60s beach movie musicals and '50s rebel films. Its aim is a bit too broad to totally work. "Wadzilla" is noteworthy just for being so outrageously stupid it's impossible not to enjoy.

036. Kisses for My President

036. (29 Jan) Kisses for My President (1964, Curtis Bernhardt) 35



Rather than focusing on the novelty or intrigue of a female president, Kisses for My President instead is mostly interested in emasculating Fred MacMurray as the "first lady." He's irritating and unsupportive, confessing that he only let his wife run for president because he never thought she'd win. His subplots are totally undercooked like an old flame offering him a job with him realizing much too late it's because his wife is the president. His kids are extremely petulant.

With Polly Bergen playing the only remotely likable character, it makes for an often torturous comedy even if the pacing is rather brisk. In the end, she resigns due to pregnancy. Yikes.

There are some fun costumes like a lavish fur coat and hat and a foreign uniform covered in medals. It's a so-so Costume Design nominee.

035. Mister Buddwing

035. (29 Jan) Mister Buddwing (1966, Delbert Mann) 37



Sort of mesmerizingly dopey, Mister Buddwing is laden with flashbacks as an amnesiac slowly recalls his life. James Garner has an almost impossible time making an amnesiac's confusion relatable. Handsome though he may be, his limitations further emphasize how nonsensical the script is. The film's title, for instance, comes from Garner wandering around the streets of Manhattan where he sees a beer truck and airplane in the sky; he pieces that together to name himself "Buddwing."

The drawn-out, silly plot is made bearable by a strong supporting cast. Angela Lansbury, Katharine Ross, Suzanne Pleshette, and Jean Simmons all take turns helping Garner. Each upstages him. Nichelle Nichols makes an impression in a bit part.

The Art Direction nomination is only for a handful of interiors, none of them especially intricate. It's mostly the inside of apartments and a couple restaurants. The Costume Design nomination is hilarious. Helen Rose is credited with the nod, but is listed in the credits as only designing Jean Simmons' gowns. That means she was cited for two shiny dresses.

034. Jane Eyre

034. (29 Jan) Jane Eyre (2011, Carey Fukunaga) 54



How Mia Wasikowska continues to get work in period films baffles me. Her posture is positively awful and her unladylike behavior makes her stick out like a sore thumb. Michael Fassbender similarly seems out of sorts since he's too handsome for the role.

Fassbender proves to be Fukunaga's greatest asset by making this remarkably sexy. The book was, after all, a romance and there are touches of that here that seem almost lurid. A particular favorite comes when Jane wakes Rochester when his room's on fire. His nightgown has a slit running up his leg and her eyes linger on it. It's a delightfully erotic touch.

This Jane Eyre sits in a heavy shadow for me, having seen Susanna White's 2006 television adaptation not long ago. White was blessed with Ruth Wilson, a far greater talent than Wasikowska, and her tone and aesthetic made for a far more engaging adaptation. The last hour of this film, in particular, feels completely rushed. Fukunaga's original cut was a half-hour longer and I imagine that's a more complete, better paced movie.

Dowdy though they may be, I like the costumes here. Jane Eyre's drab color palette is wonderfully historically accurate, but also capably illustrates the class divide. A white wedding dress is the only major misstep. Dario Marianelli's score is evocative, but minor work from him.

033. Kung Fu Panda 2

033. (28 Jan) Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011, Jennifer Yuh) 28



The first Kung Fu Panda looked cheap and ugly, so it's irritating that this is more of the same. The gags here are outright awful; there's not a genuinely funny joke in the film's runtime. The voice cast is among the most underwhelming in animation's history.

The plot unfolds terribly. Action sequences become anticlimactic because of the poorness with which their handled. The characters are at the top of a collapsing tower, for instance, and somehow manage to easily slide off a building's roof below after falling more than a dozen stories. That's stupid, but what's far more objection is how the film's final moments set up another sequel.

032. Bridesmaids

032. (26 Jan) /Bridesmaids/ (2011, Paul Feig) 59



Watching Bridesmaids back knowing its screenplay is Oscar-nominated makes it apparent just how weak the writing is. Exposition and transitions could scarcely be clumsier. The film is funny regardless and there's some genuinely good dialogue in the scenes between Wiig and O'Dowd, but it's a bizarre Oscar nominee when they usually look toward strongly structured comedies like In Bruges. The McCarthy nomination is less objectionable than I initially thought, though it is indefensible.