Matinee

There's a certain lighthearted charm to Joe Dante's Matinee that I can't help but love. It's a loving salute to Sci-Fi and Horror B-Movies and the guys who made them, but also the kids who loved them, including Dante himself. Now, I came of age later on in the late 80's, early 90's, but I still was able to relate to the movie through my own love of the genres it was paying homage to. 

Gene Loomis (played by Simon Fenton) has recently moved to Key West, Florida in Fall, 1962 with his little brother Dennis (played by Jesse Lee Soffer) and mother (played by Lucinda Jenney) to live on the Military Base where his father is stationed. Because of his father's military career, Gene has moved around a lot in his life and with a lack of friends, has found solace in monster movies at the local cinema, including ones made by the gimmicky schlockmeister Lawrence Woolsey (played by John Goodman). He is excited to discover that Woolsey will be visiting Key West to preview his latest sci-fi horror movie, MAnt, with girlfriend and leading lady Ruth Corday (played by Cathy Moriarty) in tow. Gene recognizes two protesters outside the theatre, played by John Sayles and Dick Miller no less, as actors that have worked with Woolsey in the past and realizes it's a put on to stir up free publicity by Woolsey and when Gene confronts him about it, Woolsey decides to take the kid under his wing and show him a few of his tricks. Meanwhile, the Cuban Missle Crisis is starting to heat up with tensions rising all across Key West, making it the ideal time for Woolsey to debut his new monster movie.

Joe Dante directed the film from a script by Charlie Haas and both show a real affinity for both the 1950s monster movies as well as the kids who loved them, kids like Dante himself, as the director has freely admitted. Even with the movie within a movie, MAnt!, it's recreated with more reverence than parody (another film the kids see at one point, The Shook Up Shopping Cart, is an amusing parody of the cheesiest of the Disney Live Action films of the era, and the kids look suitably bored throughout). For the character of the film director Lawrence Woolsey, Dante and Haas pull mainly from William Castle, who had a love for gimmicks with his scary movies and we see Woolsey shares this affinity as he wires buzzers to the seats and sets up other effects in the theater, including having an actor running through the theater in the MAnt costume at one point. There is a great moment between Gene and Lawrence where Gene explains why he likes Monster movies so much and Woolsey discusses why he enjoys making them so much. It's a small moment in the film but it sums up so perfectly the fun of going to see a scary movie. Then they take this portion of the plot and place it up against the very real threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis and how these kids are dealing with the very real prospect of nuclear annihilation, with the new movie providing a welcome relief from those real world fears.

John Goodman is great in the role of Lawrence Woolsey, who finds the perfect balance for the character. At his core, Woolsey is a showman and he loves creating a unique experience for his audience. His character could have easily been a slick trickster, but Goodman gives the character a lot of warmth and shows that despite his character's faults, he just wants to put on a good show for his audiences. Of course, he's not above a little scheming for the sake of publicity either. Cathy Moriarty is reliably good as Woolsey's girlfriend and frequent leading lady, who puts up with his antics yet you get the sense it's all getting a little old for her. Still, Moriarty is quite amusing in the role with her dead-pan delivery both in the film within the film and in helping Woolsey on the road, especially in the climactic Matinee showing on MAnt, where she poses as a nurse having patrons sign release forms promising not to sue if the film scares them into cardiac arrest. Simon Fenton does well as Gene, who on one had has to help take care of his younger brother since it's just them and their Mom while their dad is deployed, but also trying to find his place in a new town and not sure if he should even bother making friends. Lisa Jakub has an amusing turn as well as Sandra, the child of two beatnik parents who makes an early impression on Gene when she refuses to take part in a duck and cover drill, pointing out that it is completely pointless in the event of a real nuclear bombing. She's a wonderful character and portrayed wonderfully by Jakub.

It's easy to see why a movie like this would appeal to me. A film with a main character who is a walking encyclopedia of movie trivia and is happiest at the local cinema who gets to meet and hang out with one of his filmmaking idols. What's not to love? But at the same time, the film shows a lot of affection for a certain type of film and the guys who made them while also playfully parodying those same films. Joe Dante, who began making films for B-Movie film producer Roger Corman, was the perfect person to direct the film as well, as he loved those same films as a kid too (in fact most of the posters and memorabilia come from Dante's own collection). It's a film that didn't do so hot when it first came out 25 years ago, in part because Universal didn't know how to sell it, but has built a devoted fan base over the years. It's a film I found on cable and have loved ever since that first viewing. It'd be a suitably entertaining film for anyone I think, but for people like me - the cinephiles, I think would have even more affection for it. It certainly ranks among Joe Dante's best films for me. Maybe even his best one. 

Call Me by Your Name

Up until very recently, I thought for sure Pixar's Coco was going to be my favorite movie of the year until I saw Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name, a film filled with quiet longing, deep passion and moving romance. I went in to the film only knowing the broad strokes of the story and came out completely blown away. It is a quiet, slow burning film that keeps its focus on it's characters rather than plot in some ways that people may find unconventional.

Elio (played by Timothee Chalamet) is spending his summer with his parents at their 17th Century Villa in the Northern Italy countryside. His father, Mr. Perlman (played by Michael Stuhlbarg), is an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture and is hosting graduate student Oliver (played by Armie Hammer) for the summer while Oliver finishes his thesis. Initially perturbed that his has to give up his bedroom to the visiting Oliver, the two start to bond when Elio is tasked with showing Oliver around the village. Elio finds himself taken with the laid back Oliver and as his feelings deepen towards Oliver a playful flirtation begins. When Elio finally declares his love for Oliver, a secret summer affair begins that leave both men changed forever.

The film is directed by Luca Guadagnino from a script by James Ivory and is based on the novel by Andre Aciman. Guadagnino gives the film a very deliberate pace that allows the audience to almost be able to feel long summer days in the Italian countryside that is the film's backdrop. He holds on single shots for a long time, allowing the viewer to absorb the scene and take it all in. He also does wonders with keeping every scene on the same level and the same approach. There are no "big" scenes in the movie. A simple scene of Elio and Oliver riding bikes down a country road is treated with the same care and simplicity as their more romantic moments. That is part of what made the film so absorbing for me. The cinematography by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom is absolutely gorgeous as it captures the beautiful scenery as well as the country house the film largely takes place in and compliments the story beautifully.

The performances in the film are incredible with fantastic turns by both the leads, Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer. Chalamet does a fantastic turn as Elio, not just mastering the technical challenges of the character being trilingual, switching between English, Italian and French, sometimes in the same sentence, but also capturing the emotional core of the character. Elio is the child of two Academics and is therefore very book smart and wise beyond his years, yet emotionally is very much inexperienced, especially when it comes to love. Chalamet does a great job showing these two sides of his character, who on one hand uses his book smarts, especially in relation to music and literature, to playfully antagonize Oliver in their flirtatious one upmanship they play in the first half of the movie with his romantic inexperience that has him hesitating to voice his attraction to Oliver. Hammer likewise gives perhaps his best performance as Oliver, wonderfully showing Oliver's hesitancy to get involved with Elio, knowing he has to go back to America at the end of the Summer. He does eventually give in and the chemistry between the two is electric. I also have to give a special notice to Michael Stuhlbarg as Elio's father. He's long been an actor I've really enjoyed and he's great here. There is a moment towards the end of the film between Elio and his father and his father imparts some great wisdom to his son and the way Stuhlbarg plays the scene is magnificent and was very moving. 

Call Me by Your Name is easily one of my favorite movies of the year, if not my favorite. I wasn't prepared for how potent of a story it was going to give me, with the magnificent performances and great writing. I loved that the film had basically no conflict. Elio gets along great with his parents and you can see the love they share for one another. There is playful banter between Elio and Oliver in the beginning, but that's not the same thing. There is no big, cliched fight or antagonizing between any of the characters. The biggest villain in the film is time. Sooner or later, Oliver is going to have to go back home to America. There's something beautiful about a movie that can work like that. It is absolutely a movie that I feel deserves to be seen in a theater, free from distractions, on the biggest screen possible to take in all that gorgeous cinematography. I only checked the clock on my cell phone once and that was because I was afraid the movie was going to be over soon. What does that say when I don't want the movie to end? When I want to keep watching it, keep spending time with those characters, keep spending time in that gorgeous Italian scenery? I think it says a lot, actually.