Dogs Bark

Mission: Zwecklos - - Valkyrie (2008) - - 30 May 2009

Not recommended. One of the more tantalizing questions of modern history is why the aristocratic, proud army of Friedrich the Great allowed it's annihilation and disgrace in the thrall of a bedwetting neurotic.  Despite numerous attempts to remove him, Hitler’s survival past the obvious end of the Reich is worth a ponder. Bryan Singer’s movie, Valkyrie, adds nothing to this long thought. Equally worthy of consideration, is the brilliant and courageous leader of the Valkyrie coup, Lieutenant-Colonel Klaus von Stauffenberg, shrunk by Tom Cruise into a Happy Meal action figure. Both Singer’s direction and the weak script by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) drain this story of any intellectual vigor and reduce it to a formulaic thriller in which the ending is forgone. The one stand out is Terence Stamp as General Ludwig Beck, mirroring the weary horror of the unfolding catastrophe. Perhaps he just anticipated another wasted opportunity in the making. 

Snuff Porn - - Mr. Death: The Rise And Fall Of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999) - - 21 May 2009

Not recommended. I’m sorry but I just can’t abide this. Yes, it’s a well made documentary and yes, it clearly demonstrates no sympathy for Leuchter or his Holocaust-denial propaganda. However, Mr. Death’s crapola requires a more street-level response than the genteel give and take of talking heads. Leuchter and his ilk are offensive and evil men and should be stomped into the asphalt. I am particularly offended by Leuchter’s attempt to crowbar science into the 'debunking' of Nazi gas chambers. His incompetent and disrespectful sampling stumble through Auschwitz was not remotely scientific and his chemical data are worthless. Even before this, his work in ‘execution engineering’ was exposed as a shakedown scheme by Newsweek. We already waste too much professional time disputing the pseudo-science of creationists, anti-climate-changers and other agenda peddlers.  Errol Morris is a fine filmmaker but he should not give even a back-handed podium to this dog shit.

Dog Is My Co-Pilot - - Wendy And Lucy (2008) - - 16 May 2009

Recommended. First, you fix problem A. Then you work on problem B. C can wait. And D might never happen. Anyone who’s been young, poor, transient, and out of work understands this secret to survival and also the plot of Wendy And Lucy, director Kelly Reichardt’s well-made indy hit. These are mean streets well worn down by Jim Jarmisch, Gus Van Sant, and several other dudes but rarely from a female perspective. Michelle Williams creates in Wendy a totally believable young woman trying to find her dog and get to Alaska. The delicate veracity comes from her barely controlled, but aptly revealed, sense of outrage. Getting pissed off don’t feed the golden retriever. Splendid work is also supplied by Wally Dalton and Will Patton (Armageddon) as a predacious mechanic.  “People who can’t afford dog food shouldn’t own a dog,” says one character. Probably true, but how does that help Lucy?

This Just In: Gen. Franco Is Still Dead - - El Ángel Exterminador [The Exterminating Angel] (1962) - - 11 May 2009

An essential. Recently restored and DVDed by Criterion, The Exterminating Angel presents director/writer Luis Buñuel’s clearest solution to the riddle of life. This includes an introductory written statement that there's no meaning to the film. There's no meaning to his character's lives because they have fearfully locked themselves into a room full of open doors. Despite their obvious and self-aware lack of physical constraint, their mental prison is as real as anything else in the movie. And no one can rescue them because the outside world is equally feckless. The man of reason (Dr. Conde) tries to keep his fellow jailbirds from debauchery, but he’s clueless too. The genius of The Exterminating Angel is that the trap closes slowly on each individual character, allowing us, also sitting in a living room cell, time to identify our own individual delusion.  And over all - - Coyote waits, herein played by a squalling bear.

Sarah Winchester’s Last Tape - - Synecdoche, New York (2008) - - 29 April 2009

Strongly recommended.  Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kauffman’s debut helming of his own script, was wrongly demonized by many critics. (Disclosure: Kauffman and I vote in the same district of hell.)  But anyway, Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a neurotic playwright/director who, when his marriage bombs, is cast into a compulsively endless staging of his remaining life. The hostile reviewers liked Caden’s initial descent but hated the absurdum of actors, playing characters, who play people, all playing Kauffman’s disturbed id. However that’s the way storytellers often work (e.g. At Swim-Two-Birds or Seinfeld). The mismatch between those people we love in the flesh and those in our heads is a big part of most relationships. Also narcissism, as a pissed-off date once thoughtfully informed me. What ever . . .  the acting is superb, particularly Samantha Morton. Also, enjoy the scene where the brilliant Emily Watson tenderly segues from angel to whore.