Billy Liar (1963)

Directed by: John Schlesinger

Starring: Tom Courtenay (Billy Fisher), Julie Christie (Liz), Wilfred Pickles (Geoffrey Fisher), Mona Washbourne (Alice Fisher), Ethel Griffies (Florence), Finlay Currie (Duxbury), Gwendolyn Watts (Rita), Helen Fraser (Barbara)

Synopsis: Billy is a deadbeat clerk imagines himself in a fantasy world while in the meantime dealing with two fiancées, another girlfriend, Liz, who he truly loves, and a family holding him down.

Review: There is a thin line between love and hate when it comes to seeing "reality" in film, and you're on both sides with discontent. By "reality," I mean the movie only bits sugar-coated to please the audience are Billy's fantasies - nothing is glamorous about this movie. The beauty of this harsh look on life is a British film movement called Social Realism (aka: "kitchen sink" dramas, angry young men films, British New Wave).

Billy is a troubled young man in the beginning stages of adulthood. Working a dead end job as a clerk for an undertaker, he fantasizes his life of luxury and importance that in turn makes him late for work and relationships with people. His dreamer attitude also gives him the tendency to lie to people, such as giving the same engagement ring to two different women with him giving the excuse the ring is being cleaned as his other fiancée is wearing it. At home, he resides with his parents and grandmother who push him around saying he is a deadbeat while at the same time pampering him so he can take care of them.

The only person who understands who he is as a person is Liz, a dreamer like Billy without the daydreams. Liz is aware of what is around her. She is tired of the scenery in a run-down town. Apart from being played by the gorgeous Julie Christie in her first film role, Liz’s open-mindedness actually shows when a local celebrity picks her out of a crowd for a photo opportunity. She is exact opposite of Billy in personality and sexuality. Billy is clearly repressed sexually with being engaged to women who are uncomfortable with him innocently placing his hand on her thigh. On the other hand, Liz openly says to Billy she has been with a number of men and would like to consummate their love in a dimly-lit park.

The biggest differences between the two are their outlooks on life. Liz clearly wants to move to a big city to advance her life because she has the determination to do so. Meanwhile, Billy has the dreams of living in a big city writing for a living and spending his life with Liz. Liz also wants to "get married, not engaged," whereas Billy likes the idea of getting engaged. However, it is his mindset of “you’ll never be good enough” from his family that may or may not get the best of him. Find out when you watch the movie…

Verdict: A

Angels & Demons (2009)

Read and comment here. Enjoy!

'Nine' Update: Theatrical Trailer (part 35)

The trailer - what I've been dreading for a year and a half.



This was what I saw last night for the most part. I'll stop now while I'm ahead in regards to comments. You know exactly how I feel.

Nine the Musical movie update (part 34)

On Entertainment Tonight this evening, they showed an "exclusive" peak of the musical adaptation. I will say this, Dame Judy Dench and Daniel Day Lewis were wonderful (as they should be). Other than that, it was filled with Fergie cover of "Be Italian," which she did so-so and a montage of the ladies (Cruz, Kidman, etc.). What disappointed me the most was, like it has been from the beginning (see the other Nine posts), the casting. If only I were a rich and famous Hollywood mogul, I'd set things right...

Nine the Musical update (part 33)

I was rudely interrupted at the gym 20 minutes ago when I saw the "big sneak peak" ad on Entertainment Tonight with a Nine exclusive. I'm thinking it's the debut of the trailer. From what I saw, I cried inside. More on this tomorrow....

Is Anybody There? (2009)

Read my review here.

Ghosts of Girfriends Past (2009)

Read my review here, or my sister's more humorous take here.

The Wrestler (2008)

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Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Rated R

Starring: Mickey Rourke (Randy 'The Ram' Robinson), Marisa Tomei (Cassidy), Evan Rachel Wood (Stephanie)

Synopsis: We follow the day-to-day life of retired professional wrestler, Randy "The Ram" Robinson, and his interactions with his romantic interest, Cassidy, and his estranged daughter, Stephanie.

Review: A crowd is heard faintly from the walkway. 'The Ram' walks confidently toward his destination. The crowds grows louder, 'The Ram' gets more confident. As the crowd is about to go wild, he arrives at the deli counter of a grocery store and faces the now in silence. Out of all the nostalgic bits of Randy playing with his own action figure and signing autographs, this particular scene is the most powerful when it come to depicting Randy's psyche.

After viewing this, my better half was looking at reviews and came across this particular review and I have decided to rebuttal this critic's review. "Hype for Mickey Rouke [sic] in The Wrestler is an embarrassment; the excellent actor has had greater roles and given more interesting performances (his tabloid exploits notwithstanding)" was the critic's opening sentence. Aronofsky immerses his characters in the roles by improvisations and actually doing and not acting in character. When Randy works at the deli counter the first time, he is actually working and interacting with real customers (according to imdb). Another statement is "Ram Jam is a thuggish version of a Sylvester Stallone role, and its obviousness is better suited to Stallone’s cornball ambitions." Isn't that the point to Rourke's character? The guy is a has-been, a loser. He lives in a trailer barely able to pay rent. He has one-night stands after doing shots and coke lines as he attempts to gain his youth back forgetting his responsibility to spend time with his daughter.

The theme Aronofsky sticks to in all of his films is looking at a human being and touching a nerve with them that either shows their weakness that leads them to self-destruction. Instead of ending up in a prison ("Harry" in Requiem for a Dream) or a tree of life ("Tom" in The Fountain), Randy is stuck in 1989 with his last great battle as a crowd-pleasing professional wrestler. Quipping "I hated the 1990s" (or something to that effect), this grown man can't go through the processing of ending a life chapter, moving on, etc. It is heartbreaking to witness, but that's his reality and he doesn't know any better.

The second problem I have with the review is the statement: "Full of self-inflicted lacerations and injections, Ram Jam is his own voodoo doll. Everything he does is an act of masochistic penance—very strange in an anti-spiritual movie." Why choose the wording "anti-spiritual?" This is neither an uplifting film nor an agenda to incorporate religious beliefs. This is a film about the harsh reality present in society one way or another. I am not implying a depressive attitude on the world, but it is false to say everything and everyone has a potential light to shine on itself or his/herself. Some people or things just plain do not have hope, whether it's genetic or inflicted. Some circumstances just need to follow its course. Films like Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Young Adam, and Aronofsky's other works (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain), the audience is shown the facts and the consequences on the characters' decisions. Unfortunately, the characters have all the good intentions to succeed, but end up taking the wrong direction leading to failure. To quote that famous bumper sticker, "shit happens."

Ending the bash-session is "Ram Jam is a distorted white working-class stereotype, but Aronofsky can’t tell courage from vainglory, foolhardiness from sacrifice." First off, what's so "distorted" about this "stereotype?" Is it because of Randy's profession (or lack of)? I'm sure it's so farce to see a has-been struggling to live, being washed-up twenty years earlier when he/she was somebody. Then what about Sunset Boulevard? Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Heck, even This is Spinal Tap! None of these classics are any different from The Wrestler. Yes, Aronofsky focuses on the bleak aspect, but that's the beauty of these films. These characters have a problem with facing reality and there's not much else to say other than that's that.

Oh yeah (last quote from that review, I promise), "Shame on Bruce Springsteen for contributing a self-pitying title song to Aronofsky’s indie artsiness." What about "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses, which was donated by Axl Rose (see here) or Clint Mansell's great score (yet again) featuring Slash? And the phrase "Aronofsky's indie artsiness?" Wow. To be a professional film critic, how about "auteuristic style" to replace "indie artsiness?" I don't get paid to write film reviews, there are better phrases to come up if the hatred of this movie was so passionate. I'm sure if the opportunity arose to review the Criterion Collection's sore pick of Armageddon, the opportunity will be completed with phrases such as "heart-pounding" or "gripping" when referencing Aerosmith's ballad "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing."

To back up my critique, this is an excellent film. If you are interested in viewing something that isn't sugar-coated or realistically depicts human nature on a gritty level, please consider watching this movie. If you are not up for such bleakness, I would hold off on this and save it for a rainy day.

Verdict: A