I don’t write full reviews of every film I see, because I’d spend more time writing than watching, probably, and I’ve been seeing quite a few things at home. However, I thought I should offer some brief thoughts about my other January viewing.
Big Eyes (2014). This is perhaps a slight film from Burton, but it marks a more grounded move in his storytelling of recent years, dealing with the real-life events surrounding artist Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), whose husband (Christoph Waltz) passes off her somewhat kitschy paintings of doe-eyed children as his own in order to enjoy success. Whatever truth there may be in his arguments—the film emphasises what a difficult time the 1950s was for a woman to be an artist—he’s a domineering husband, and Adams finds herself amongst all the shallow trappings of success.
The Craft (1996). A trio of high-school witches led by suitably gothy Fairuza Balk welcomes a new member in the form of Robin Tunney, who’s transferred to their school. Things take a turn as their power increases and Tunney rebels against their increasingly violent actions, but the film remains a sort of campy pleasure, which gives plenty of agency to these four women.
From the East (1993). You couldn’t get more different with Akerman’s East European travelogue, as she moves from Germany to Russia with her watchful camera. There’s an eeriness that’s evoked by its frequent extended tracking shots, whether across industrially-blighted scenery or along long ranks of people standing in the cold by roads, presumably waiting for a bus. There’s no dialogue as such, though a fair bit of unsubtitled talking emphasises that this is an outsider’s view of an only newly capitalist society, and the faces directed towards the camera speak volumes about their lives.
Get Over It (2001). It may hardly be inspired but it’s fun to watch this teen film, which fits into the contemporary trend for sort-of-adaptations of classic literature (in this case, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a modern production of which features in the film). A young Ben Foster plays the rather bland leading man, and Kirsten Dunst pops up as a love interest, but the performances from a bunch of actors at the start of their careers are all enjoyable and the film moves along briskly.
Holes (2003). A very silly film with a good sense of its dusty desert location where the youthful protagonist (Shia LaBeouf) digs holes as part of some kind of Disneyfied child chain gang. As family entertainment goes, it’s fine, but the emotional epiphanies are all fairly cliched.
I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007). Even lower in esteem amongst Heckerling’s recent work than Loser (see below), but this romcom featuring an older woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her younger lover (Paul Rudd) is still fitfully pleasing, despite the schmaltz of its premise. There’s an early role for the adaptable and talented Saoirse Ronan, and many odd and surprising cameos from various UK television celebrities, betraying that it was partly shot near London.
Into the Woods (2014). I confess I watched this while somewhat drunk, so a lot of the details escape me. I’m not a huge Sondheim fan, but this is all mounted very handsomely, with particularly good performances from a delightful Emily Blunt as more-or-less the lead role, as a woman who must gather up a bunch of magical items from various fairytales in order to be able to conceive a baby, and Chris Pine as a deeply narcissistic prince with a great dance-off scene. Meryl Streep shows up too and steals scenes in ways that Johnny Depp can only dream about nowadays.
Loser (2000). After the comedic high point of Heckerling’s Clueless five years before, this film came in for a bit of a kicking, and to a certain extent you can see why. Its story of gawky provincial kid Jason Biggs going to college in the Big Apple hits a lot of familiar notes, and bless her Mena Suvari is not convincing, but there’s still plenty to enjoy all the same.
Sheen of Gold (2013). A documentary about New Zealand 80s garage punk band the Skeptics, one of the bands on legendary indie label Flying Nun and one I’ve loved since growing up in New Zealand. Like a lot of NZ music of the era, their angular sound borrows a lot from UK post-punk bands like the Fall while adding a certain Antipodean slant. The documentary itself is primarily talking heads, with archival material spliced in where available, including footage from the last gig by the band prior to the untimely death of their lead singer in 1990.
Slap Her… She’s French! (2002). The title sounds dire, the setup is familiar (French exchange student Piper Perabo comes to Texas and throws everything into disarray for the local teen queen Jane McGregor) and indeed some of the filmmaking is squarely in the clunky made-for-TV exposition mode, but there’s plenty to enjoy here. The performances are broad in a comically enjoyable way, and what seems initially like a bit of easy European xenophobia turns out to be a misdirect (though in any case, the film makes far more fun of Texans than French people).
Tabu (1931). Often subtitled “A Story of the South Seas”, this sees expressionist German director Murnau filming on the island of Bora Bora in the Pacific, imparting a sense of untouched paradise fraught by forbidden love between a commoner and a princess. There’s hints of ethnographic condescension, but for the most part this is touching, and undeniably beautiful.
I also saw some early Eric Rohmer films (The Baker of Monceau and Suzanne’s Career), but you’ll have to wait until they crop up in the Criterion Collection for my review.
CREDITS
Big Eyes (2014) [USA] — Director Tim Burton; Writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski; Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel; Starring Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Krysten Ritter, Danny Huston, Jason Schwartzman; Length 106 minutes. Seen at Cineworld West India Quay, London, Tuesday 13 January 2015. 
The Craft (1996) [USA] — Director Andrew Fleming; Writers Peter Filardi and Fleming (based on a story by Filardi); Cinematographer Alexander Gruszynski; Starring Fairuza Balk, Robin Tunney, Neve Campbell, Rachel True; Length 101 minutes. Seen at home (Amazon streaming), London, Tuesday 13 January 2015.
D’est (From the East, 1993) [Belgium/France/Portugal] — Director/Writer Chantal Akerman; Cinematographers Bernard Delville and Rémon Fromont; Length 107 minutes. Seen at the ICA, London, Thursday 22 January 2015.
Get Over It (2001) [USA] — Director Tommy O’Haver; Writer R. Lee Fleming Jr.; Cinematographer Maryse Alberti; Starring Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Melissa Sagemiller, Sisqó; Length 87 minutes. Seen at home (DVD), London, Saturday 10 January 2015.
Holes (2003) [USA] — Director Andrew Davis; Writer Louis Sachar (based on his own novel); Cinematographer Stephen St. John; Starring Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Tim Blake Nelson; Length 117 minutes. Seen at home (DVD), London, Monday 5 January 2015. 
I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007) [USA] — Director/Writer Amy Heckerling; Cinematographer Brian Tufano; Starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, Saoirse Ronan, Tracey Ullman; Length 97 minutes. Seen at home (Amazon streaming), London, Monday 26 January 2015.
Into the Woods (2014) [USA] — Director Rob Marshall; Writer James Lapine (based on the stage musical by Stephen Sondheim and Lapine); Cinematographer Dion Beebe; Starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine; Length 124 minutes. Seen at the Peckhamplex, London, Sunday 11 January 2015.
Loser (2000) [USA] — Director/Writer Amy Heckerling; Cinematographer Rob Hahn; Starring Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari, Greg Kinnear; Length 95 minutes. Seen at home (Amazon streaming), London, Saturday 10 January 2015.
Sheen of Gold (2013) [New Zealand] — Director/Cinematographer Simon Ogston; Length 82 minutes. Seen at home (DVD), London, Friday 2 January 2015.
Slap Her… She’s French! (aka She Gets What She Wants, 2002) [USA] — Director Melanie Mayron; Writers Lamar Damon and Robert Lee King; Cinematographer Charles Minsky; Starring Piper Perabo, Jane McGregor, Trent Ford, Julie White; Length 92 minutes. Seen at home (Amazon streaming), London, Tuesday 13 January 2015.
Tabu (1931) [USA] — Director F.W. Murnau; Writers Murnau and Robert J. Flaherty; Cinematographer Floyd Crosby; Starring Matahi, Anne Chevalier [as “Reri”]; Length 84 minutes. Seen at home (DVD), London, Saturday 10 January 2015.
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