Movie-a-Day, Part I: The Conversation (1974)

Compared to many of Francis Ford Coppola's films, The Conversation is relatively tame, especially due to the fact that it was released in '74, two years after The Godfather. The film has one of those plots that are extremely simple and rather bland in theory, but if put in the right hands, it can go a long way — in this case, an audio surveillance expert who is hired to spy on a mysterious couple uncovers a potential conspiracy, and spends much of the movie deciding whether or not to close his eyes to it, or risk his life to save others.

Oh Hey, it's Been a While

Wow. So my last post was June 5th. That was nine months ago. 282 days, without writing (I did the math in seconds using a "date calculator" that I found on the internet - isn't technology amazing?). Other than the occasional tweet here and there, that was probably the last time I wrote anything more than an original paragraph. After taking several punches, I started to lose faith in myself as a writer. A battle which I'm sure any writer has gone through at least once (or so I hope). 

It began as starting a review or article that I sincerely planned on finishing and publishing, only to lose interest in it about halfway through and deleting it altogether. A half-page turned into a few sentences, and a few sentences turned into nothing. Just a blank document that I would stare for a while at and eventually walk away from. It felt like an unexplainable phenomenon that I couldn't wrap my head around. All I've ever wanted to be, for several years, is a journalist in film. I knew that the only way to keep about it would be to keep writing. Every day. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't even bring myself to watch films as much as I used to, before that dreaded day in June. I went from watching 3-4 films a week to maybe one, if I was lucky. 

As I'm writing this, I currently have Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret rented out from Netflix since the 18th of August. Thats's seven months, 29 weeks, 208 days, 4992 hours, 299,520 minutes, and 17,971,200 seconds from now (seriously, this date calculator is sweet). I also had Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene for quite some time, but finally got around to watching it a few weeks ago (fine flick, check it out). I now have Pete Travis' adaptation of Dredd beginning the ritual of collecting dust until it finally serves it's purpose. 

The point that I'm making with the super awesome date calculator is that I intend to make up for all those months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds lost. As of today, I am attempting my very own "movie-a-day" challenge. I don't exactly know what I hope to get out of it, other than the possibility that if I force myself to watch something new everyday, and write at least a paragraph about it, I will be taking one more step towards my goal of a career. Ask any writer what the best way to get better at the form is, and all they will tell you is to write. All the time, goddammit, and don't stop. And that's what I tend to do, only I'm also throwing movies into the mix. 

My only fear is that I will wake up tomorrow, and do what I did nine months ago: not care. In another step to prevent this, I am taking a page out of Jerry Seinfeld's book, and am using his "Don't Break the Chain" method to increase productivity. I have a nice, big Boston Terrier calendar six inches from where I am sitting right now (it's my girlfriend's calendar, I swear). Every day that I complete a task (in my case, watching a flick and writing about it) I mark off the day with a nice big 'X'. The idea is to not break the chain of X's. 

It just might be too idiot-proof for me to screw this up. Hopefully, by June 5th of this year, I will have completed a nice, 83-day streak. 

First X: Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation.

Take Shelter

In 2007, newcomer Jeff Nichols directed his powerful debut film Shotgun Stories. The film stars Michael Shannon and focuses on two separate groups of half-brothers who are at a grudgingly brutal war with one another, despite the fact that they all share the same father. The film focuses on several powerful themes, mainly the senselessness of violence and revenge, and how it can only end in tragedy. The film received much critical acclaim, and yet it still remains relatively unknown to mass audiences to this day.

The Adventures of Tintin

Lots of people might argue that legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg has lost his touch as an artist as of late, having not crafted a film to completely woo audiences since 2003, the year both Catch Me if You Can and Minority Report were released. His works since then, like Munich, War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,  and even his most recent film, War Horse, have all been criticized for failing to capture the same magic of hisRaiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. days. While this certainly open for debate (Munich is an exceptionally well-made film), it is difficult to have lost faith in Spielberg with his new adaptation of The Adventures of Tintin. 

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Being released in 1920, Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was an extremely controversial and unsettling piece of work when first unleashed among German audiences. Like the many German Expressionist films that followed it, Caligari focuses on several themes that weren’t openly discussed at the time, and to some degree, still aren’t: murder, loneliness, hopelessness, and rape, just to name a few. The film has several honorable credentials up its sleeve, including for being the first of the horror genre, and is even often cited as a major inspiration for film noir, which debuted only a few years later (while the “first” film noir is debated, some consider M to hold the title, directed by fellow German director Fritz Lang). This scene, where Dr. Caligari’s puppet Cesare attempts to claim another victim, is potentially the most hair-raising of the film’s (rather short) duration. This is particularly due to Giuseppe Becce’s haunting composition, which not only holds up against many compositions to this day - it outmatches them.

Drive

If there was any doubt that only total badasses can chew on toothpicks, without the desire to clean their teeth, Ryan Gosling puts that silly rumor to rest. Despite what it's title might imply, Drive is not your typical ricer-approved action movie that we all know and love nowadays. The film is very patient and quietly paced, and proves how important and powerful the use of a camera can be if in the right hands. There are (almost) no climatic chase sequences here. Nicolas Winding Refn, director, instead relies on very steady and slow, yet controlled tension to keep us on the edge of our seats at all times. The opening scene is my testimony to this, and perfectly sets the tone for what's to come.

Super

James Gunn has quite the credentials. His first screenplay for a feature film is the critically panned Specials, starring Rob Lowe. He followed this with the live-action take of Scooby-Doo. Two years later, he must have realized what a huge mistake that crap was, because he went on to try something (slightly) more respectful and dignifying: Zach Snyder's remake of Dawn of the Dead. Looks like Gunn's career is taking a nice turn, after all! Oh...wait. Scratch that. The same year he helped scribe Scooby-Doo: Monster's Unleashed.