Tokyo Story (1953)

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

Before I learned to use the phrase “It’s like an Ozu film,” I had to string together words like simple, classic, beautiful, and grace; mention themes of life/change and tradition/modernity; and improperly use nouns such as humanity, everyday, and harmony as adjectives.  As I struggled to find a response to a fellow film geek’s review of Tokyo Story, I started watching the film without subtitles—initially on accident—and I realized just how much visual depth and textures (without the distraction of subtitles) were captured by Ozu’s camera.  His films are obvious, told simply and clearly—their methods of storytelling don't obscure its themes so that the audience feels smart for figuring out its meaning (through gimmicks that feign complexity).

Tokyo Story is art at its most humane.  It explores the generational gap between parents and their grown-up children.  Now adults, the children find themselves too busy with their own lives to properly mind their parents who have come a long way to visit them.  Ozu’s films are timeless, not because their stories feel like they could happen today (although, that is also true) but rather they are timeless because it makes the viewer feel as one of their time.

A 200-word review/rebuttal of James Blake Ewing's Tokyo Story review at Cinema Sights. 

Enjoy: Sense of Cinema on Yasujiro Ozu and articles by Roger Ebert, The Great Movies and on Ozu.
The 4-minute (Criterion Collection) trailer and more screens after the jump...

I'm Glad This Movie Exists #2

When the Cat's Away (1996)

Written & Directed by Cédric Klapisch

Janet Maslin's review, Again, the awesome trailer in case your browser can't view the embedded version.
It should be added to my list of Films That Need a Bluray Release since it isn't even on DVD (US).

Also see Klapisch's Un Air de Famille (1996), written by Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri.

The US movie poster can be found after the jump...

The Apartment (1960)

Directed by Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder was a genius at mixing comedy and drama, especially in this 1960 Academy Award-winning picture (co-written by I.A.L. Diamond). Thematically adult, but sweet tone-wise: Lemmon and MacLaine stumble into romance and into trouble. Lemmon’s reflection in a broken compact mirror are what screenplays in screenplay-heaven are made of.*

Here's the trailer; and for those who have seen it, this is the broken compact scene. 
Also, a review by Roger Ebert and a New York Times review from when it opened.
* This 50-word review was written back in 2006. 

The Impostors (1998)

Directed by Stanley Tucci

The Impostors is a work of genuine genius (take that alliteration police). Its non-stop laughs* come from blending silent, slapstick, screwball, Marx/Warner Brothers, and musical comedies. Oliver Platt and Stanley Tucci are on the run after assaulting a famous stage actor. While hiding out on a cruise liner, hijinks ensue.

  
* You’ll definitely want more cream puffs after the Bakery scene.

See The Impostors trailer on YouTube. Even better, see the opening sequence at The Art of the Title Sequence (quicktime). 

Here's a nice review by James Berardinelli (Reelviews.net).

Film reviews in fifty words (2011).

"oh my god[ard]!!!"

I'm quoting one of the comments left on a trailer (YouTube) for Jean-Luc Godard's Film Socialisme (2011). Apparently, the 4-minute trailer, known as trailer 2, looks like the entire movie but in fast forward. He's 80 years old now, he can get away with such things; actually: he's JLG, he could always get away with such things.  

Here's some recent articles on JLG, from gaurdian.co.uk and indieWIRE. The various trailers for Film Socialisme can be seen here. Trailer 3, which runs 2 minutes and 10 seconds and has music, is embedded for your viewing pleasure/displeasure.

Let's go with an impromptu Top Five:

1. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her  (1967)
2. Vivre Sa Vie  (1962)
3. Breathless  (1960)
4. Contempt  (1963)
5. A Woman Is a Woman  (1961)

Honorable Mention: Bande à part (1964)
It has some of the best scenes and moments in all of his movies. Like this one:

Woody Allen Opened the Cannes Film Festival Today

My favorite filmmaker, at 75 years, opened The 64th Cannes Film Festival with Midnight in Paris—his 45th feature film.

Filming in Paris with Marion Cotillard, Alison Pill, and Owen Wilson.

When I first watched this trailer, I was happy for Owen Wilson and his new role (not knowing the director). I was really responding to it, thinking "this movie's going to be great, who made this?" Around 45 seconds in, Mr. Wilson says "pseudo-intellectual" and I had my suspicions.  The reveal is at the 1 minute and 25 second mark.

 
I can't wait until its wide US release. It opens in New York and Los Angeles on May 20th. 
I didn't like the poster that much, but here's the official website.
Here's a nice article from guardian.co.uk on the opening.