John Otteni

Criterion Month Day 21: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

I took a Sporcle quiz a week ago (remember Sporcle?) that compiled results from different publications to make an unofficial list of the “100 Greatest Horror Movies.” Most of the list was business as usual; Halloween, The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, yadda, yadda. What surprised me coming in at number 100 was Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Is this actually a horror movie? And do I, a horror fanatic, agree with this placement? And how does this movie fare for a fair-weather Twin Peaks “fan.”

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Criterion Month Day 20: Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa (1986)

Sometimes Criterion Month feels like school. I watch a slow, long, sad foreign film and then have to bang out a half-assed essay at the 25th hour. The experience is usually rewarding, but it feels like eating your vegetables too. Which is why I get low-key excited when I get to watch a movie like Mona Lisa. There’s no pretension here. Just a schlubby Bob Hoskins wandering around London to a Phil Collins’ song. Now that’s my kind of movie.

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Criterion Month Day 13: Pink Flamingos

Pink Flamingos (1972)

After I watched John Frankenheimer’s Seconds for my last review, I really wanted to write something. After I watched Pink Flamingos, I wanted to film something. NOT like anything in this film. Oh god no! What appealed to me wasn’t the shit eating or the singing asshole, but the camaraderie between John Waters and his cast, lovingly referred to as the “Dreamlanders”.

Early John Waters’ films remind me of when I was high school making films. Again, I want to reiterate we did NOT make films like this. But there’s a kind of “on-the-fly” to John Waters’ early work. As if he and all his Dreamlanders didn’t necessarily know what it was to make an actual film, they just shot what they thought was funny, or filthy. And even after fifty years, Pink Flamingos still feels fun and still feels filthy.

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Criterion Month Day 8: Seconds

Seconds (1966)

My favorite dramatic show of all time is The Twilight Zone. The chic black and white style, the nightmarish sci-fi, and rich social commentary. The theme song is even my ringtone! Scares the hell out of me every time. So of course I loved John Frankenheimer’s 1966 sci-fi horror cult classic Seconds. The only thing I’m trying to wrap my head around is how did this movie happen?

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Criterion Month Day 5: Shoot the Piano Player

Shoot the Piano Player (1960)

Francois Truffaut’s 1959 debut The 400 Blows is one of my favorite foreign language films of all time. Off the top of my head, Bong Joon-ho’s The Host is the only film I’d rate higher. So I’m shocked it took me this long to visit his sophomore effort, Shoot the Piano Player. The film has always been well-liked but disappointed commercially and I’m not sure what kind of legacy it has outside of the snobbiest corners of film twitter. Regardless, the film carries the same kind of bittersweet melancholy Truffaut does best. Not to mention the film was a pivotal entry into the French New Wave movement of the ‘60s.

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Criterion Month Day 3: Ikiru

Ikiru (1952)

I’ve almost seen all the BIG Kurosawa films at this point. I think the only two essentials I’m missing are Ran and High and Low. Though I did watch part of High and Low in a class once—I saw the Low part. My takeaway from the Kurosawa films I have seen is that Kurosawa is a filmmaker that tells stories about characters with a lot of grit. Nine times out of ten those characters are played by Toshiro Mifune. If you’re not familiar with Mifune he’s the ultimate badass. Sometimes he’s a Man with No Name-type samurai. Sometimes he’s an overburdened cop desperate for resolution. Sometimes he’s insane. The bigger the better. But Takashi Shimura in Kurosawa’s 1952 drama Ikiru is a different kind of character.

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Oscars Fortnight Day 9: Mystic River

Mystic River (2003)

The 76th Academy Awards (2004)
Nominations: 6
Wins: 2

It’s funny seeing what films at what times resonate with the Academy. Apart from the prestige of Mystic River being a Clint Eastwood film, I’m not sure what else it brings to the table. It has big performances that border on laughable. The story makes no sense. The mystery is shaky at best. Yet, it is n engaging thriller at times. Like an airport novel. Which makes sense considering it was adapted from what was essentially an airport novel. Some people just like a good time. Also, didn’t it seem like there was unusual interest in Boston in the mid-2000s? The Departed, anyone? Is it just me? Well, let’s get into it ya wicked pissas.

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