The Gaijin Mountain Man's Top 10 For 2005:
Layer Cake (2004) – As much as I like Lock Stock and Snatch this has a level of maturity, well…gleeful maturity, which the Guy Ritchie films lack. There’s almost a calmness to the pace that somehow heightens the suspense. Like the old assured man of crime films. He’s not too flashy but knows how to hand you your ass if need be.
Crime is kind of an easy genre for the movie industry. It’s a great way to live vicariously through a dangerous life, and an easy sell because everyone is fairly familiar with how it works, mostly through other crime movies they’ve seen. And of course some real criminals have to see it to pick up tips. The problem with many is a lack of build up between the violence. It’s all too often a rush to the “good stuff” not so here. The violence in Layer Cake is brutal, inventive, and smart. If only the new James Bond could be as good as this.
Point Blank (1967) – I’m a big fan of the Mel Gibson slightly goofy revenge a-thon Payback, when I read that both that and Point Blank were based on the same book this became a must see before jumping over to samurai country. I just love movies like this where the main character and the filmmaking style almost mimic each other. Methodical is the word. The character and the film have every move planned out ahead of time and if that’s not the case I was severely fooled.
I don't believe this was a very popular movie when it came out, an audience often feels lost when the hurdles posed by the antagonist get resolved and there are 20 minutes left in the film. But I love it when a movie is so committed to the story that no matter how difficult an aspect may be for the audience it still retains a kind of truth.
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) – I once caught about 12 minutes of this movie on cable when I was 17, and it always snuck around in the back of my head as a pretty cool 12 minutes of entertainment. Finally 10 years later I got to see it in its entirety, and now the entire thing is sneaking around the back of my head. This movie hops between comedy and seriousness in a somewhat jarring manner, but the overall effect is very original. It does a good job of subtly masking the terrible life decision Jeff Bridges character has made and the well meaning but eventually weak objections by Clint Eastwood’s character. The comedy eventually fades and you’re left with a tragedy you’re unprepared for. It may throw some for a loop but if one can ride this jumping frog from one scene to the next he will find little nuggets of wonder by the end.
The Dirty Dozen (1967) – Yes two Lee Marvin movies are on this list. And yes they both effin rock. Before Point Blank and this I hadn’t seen any of his movies. Oh, what a sad life I lived before Lee Marvin, only now do I know how much of an amazing action movie actor he was. I can't recall an actor in a modern action movie who seemed so natural and comfortable. He knew explosions only really work when a believable character sets them off.
A great thing about this movie is that while it throws dirt on the idea of the greatest generation it also corroborates it. The characters are crazed felons and rapists, but were capable of an astonishing bravery.
Rolling Thunder (1977) – I haven’t put these 10 movies in any order but I have to say that this is the A number one movie I saw last year. It is not out on DVD but if you find it on VHS no matter what the quality you must see this film. It starts out with easily one of the most horrible songs ever set to a movie title, but luckily that's the only sour note in this entire film. A revenge show that stretches beyond revenge and death and makes us feel special because we have an intimate knowledge of these special characters. Utilizing a slow build up of burning violence and anger and the alienation brought about by a learned capability lacking any understanding by their society. As much as I love his movies I must say that the greatest contribution to entertainment by Quentin Tarantino is his protection and loving care and hype of this film.
Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were Rabbit (2005) - Man what a fun playground. Nick Park has done what many writers and artists only wish they could do. He has created a fully realized and wholly enjoyable world that many people just love to visit. The interesting thing is that while the first Wallace and Gromit short took place on the moon the next two shorts and this movie have given the characters more emotional weight by fleshing out the town they live in and keeping things a little less impossible has actually made thing more exciting. I'm glad he's taking his time creating these I want them to be as good as they possibly can but after saying that I sure do hope that these good friends will be back for more soon.
A History of Violence (2005) – It is so so so refreshing to watch a movie with an action scene that isn't directed as if by someone suffering from the shakes. So fresh and so clean, forget MTV style, forget John Woo American slow-mo. Hopefully this will become the new vanguard for action. When the shit goes down the cuts are fast but they are clear penetrating and easily understandable. I can only hope that Christopher Nolan can take some cues from this for the next Batman.
Beyond the impeccable action you get some super acting in what’s essentially a penetrating family drama. Included are a couple of quirky but seemingly real sex scenes that are more insightful than titillating. That said, some of the dialogue is woefully wooden in the early family scenes, and I'm not sure if it was an intentional device to display the current innocence of the family or just plain awkwardly written dialog.
Howl's Moving Castle (2004) – Despite a puzzling ending I have real affection for this film. When I first heard that Miyazaki was going to make an adaptation rather than produce an original idea of his I was skeptical. I shouldn’t have been, I found this to be his most enjoyable film since Porco Rosso. Yes the antiwar theme is employed with the usual subtlety (I'm being sarcastic) but it’s not too intrusive and luckily there is no hit you over the head environmentalist message.
The real joy, and I was surprised how engaging it was, lay in watching someone coming to terms with old age. Maybe much of the audience that didn’t like it was just uncomfortable with aging, but this seems to me to be a highly universal theme that everyone should come to terms with. And what a great way to contemplate it.
Godzilla Final Wars – If you are someone who actually enjoys seeing a man in a rubber monster suit attack another man in a rubber monster suit than there is no reason why you should not enjoy this. It should come down to either, “I like silly Japanese monster movies”, or, “I don't like silly Japanese monster movies”, and that should be it. If you are going to a movie expecting to see a grown man in a rubber suit bellow green flame on an incredibly fake looking city, and you're looking forward to this, then you should only be disappointed if a man in a rubber suit doesn’t blow flame. Sure certain ones are going to be better than others but jeez man it’s never going to be an academy award winner. I have enjoyed every Godzilla movie I have ever seen because before I push play I’m prepared for what I'm going to get. This movie screams fun and anyone who doesn't like fun should not watch a Godzilla movie.
Born To Fight (2004) – There is no way this movie should've worked. A pack of gymnasts that defeat a bloodthirsty crew of murdering criminals would usually leave me cringing for days. I would have said leave the crime-fighting to Mr. T. and his sweaty bunch of underage athletes and I would have been wrong. Luckily I had no idea what this movie was about before Dan D. started up the disk. I don't know if it was because the stunts were so amazing, or that the gymnasts seemed to really think that attacking someone from a makeshift pommel horse was their only mode of defense, or that there were many moments of realism (a lot of good guys die and you don’t see it coming) that tied together an insanely ludicrous plot. The characters deaths were chosen for opportune times to remind you the serious predicament they were in. And did I mention that the stunts still haunt my sleep.
