Review: "Room 237"

On my DVD shelf sit two movies that I consider among the best I’ve ever seen: Pi and JFK. Both movies deal with lead characters obsessed with their current problems and slowly (but surely) becoming paranoid, seeing conspiracy in everything. Both are less about “the truth” or “the answer” and more about how one can lose oneself in the pursuit of their obsessions. Growing up with OCD, I certainly understand.

Room 237 joins in on the action, except it switches dramatized people and fictional characters for real ones - making what is shown more interesting and (believe it or not) more frustrating to watch. Not really a documentary and not really a “movie”, Room 237 is more like an essay in a style similar to F for Fake. Made up of a series of interviews from film buffs and scholars, we get a frame by frame deconstruction of the messages and meanings behind Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

Top 10 Movies of ALL TIME (that I've seen)

In the latest episode of the #TeamNOLAFilm podcast, we discussed the recent change to the Sight & Sound Best Movies list, where "Citizen Kane" got bumped from number 1 by "Vertigo" - skip to 26:20:
During the discussion, we revealed our thoughts for best/favorite films ever. And, just a day or so ago, Sound on Sight asked its staff (including myself) to come up with individual Top 10 lists to be tallied for a comprehensive site list (coming soon).

So, with these two incidents happening side by side, I decided to just go ahead and post my slightly thought out and relatively pointless list of...

The 10 Best Movies of ALL TIME (that I've seen)!

1.(tie) "Apocalypse Now" and  Orson Welles' "The Trial"
- Yes, maybe it's a cop out coming up with a tie decision for the number 1 slot, but it is what it is. One may be the greatest war film made and the other may be the most absurd/hilarious comedy to be a depressing headache. Seek out both, and you will be automatically better for it.

3. Buster Keaton's "The General"
- Considering how far special effects and stunt work have come, this is truly amazing to watch. Back then, you had to do it FOR REAL. See where Jackie Chan draws his inspiration from.

4. "Once Upon a Time in America"
- You think Sergio Leone was only about the western? Pfft. If "The Godfather" is about family, then this is about memory, regret and friendship. Could've easily been at the top.

5. The Original "King Kong"
- One of the few movies to make me choked up in the end. You really end up caring about poor Kong. Another special effects wonder.

6. The Original "Metropolis"
- Not only has a wonderful message, but is dazzling and quite epic. It's a miracle that most of the missing scenes were found.

7. David Lynch's "Inland Empire"
- Lynch comes full circle from where he started with "Eraserhead". A 3 hour unofficial reinvention of "Alice in Wonderland", I like to think.

8. Abel Gance's "Napoleon"
- The only film on this list that I've NEVER FULLY SEEN. I read the book on the making of it, and knew it was among the best. Check out my earlier post on my optimism about its BluRay/DVD release.

9. "F for Fake"
- What? Another Orson Welles pick? Indeed. His final work (until "The Other Side of the Wind gets completed) is years ahead of its time. You can see where Oliver Stone got some of his techniques for "Natural Born Killers" (which almost made this list).

10. "Roman Holiday"
- I used to have a big crush on Audrey Hepburn, so I had to put this one on here. I love it when romantic comedies don't pick the easy way out, and go for bittersweet instead.

This is NOT meant to be permanent by any means, and even if it was, does it really matter? After all, these lists are really just meant to encourage discussion... So, with that in mind, please leave a comment!

I Think It Would Be Fun To...Watch A Blu-Ray

A few months ago, my friend and fellow blogger OogieRah got in on the whole Blu-Ray thing. With his new HDTV, He can now view such classics as "2001: A Space Odyssey" and, yes, even "Salo or The 120 Days of Sodom". The other day, He told me that He was considering purchasing the new Blu Ray edition of Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane". Being the Wellesian I try to be, I gave him a warning - not that He asked or cared.

Image via WikipediaThere's a bit of controversy over this home video release, specifically over the special features. The best discussion I've been able to find has come from WellesNet.com. According to them, to put movies like "RKO 281" and "The Battle Over 'Citizen Kane'" on this release is to say that you don't know/didn't bother to learn anything about Orson. These features, using old rumors as facts, paint a poor picture of one of the greatest directors of all time.

When the announcement over the features was made, a pretty heated conversation occurred on the WellesNet Facebook page. What bonus features could possibly make the 70th Anniversary release of "Citizen Kane" worse? Well, let's come up with a list (which I may add to at my leisure):

1. Newly recorded commentary track by dedicated Welles fan Steven Spielberg
2. Alternate ending, where it's all revealed to be a fever dream had by Charles as a child. He gets out of bed on Christmas morning, hugs his mom and dad, and plays with his sled.
3. Alternate cut guest directed by George Lucas - Joseph Cotten has now been replaced by Hayden Christensen.
4. Digitally restored outtakes of Orson's wine commercials.
5. DVD supervised by Jess Franco.
6. Extended musical sequence with Charles and the dancers, featuring new music by Ke$ha.
7. Free tickets to "Anonymous" with every purchase!
8. Deleted scene - the car crash that killed Charles' wife and son, orchestrated by Gettys.
9. Alternate cut guest directed by George Lucas - Charles screams "Noooooo!" when He destroys his bedroom.
10. The Ted Turner cut - In Color, presented in 3D.

At the end of the day, I couldn't completely recommend this edition to my friend. I probably won't be buying it, but He can go ahead; at least it'll look pretty.