Battleship Pretension

LANTANA (2001)
The exhausting “tapestry-of-intersecting-bourgeois-lives” genre sometimes seems like it only continues to exist because its purveyors are in a game of one-upmanship to see who can include the most characters. The recent, tepid Answers to Nothing may be the current titleholder. There are two main things that set Ray Lawrence’s Lantana apart from the pack. First, it has relatively few characters compared to these other films. Second, it is Australian. That means it’s one of the few chances you’ll get to see Anthony LaPaglia performing in his native accent. LaPaglia has never truly gotten the recognition he deserves stateside but he’s phenomenal here. Also in the sturdy cast are Barbara Hershey and Geoffrey Rush. Though Lawrence’s camera is in unanchored and fluid, the story manages to remain grounded due to the conclusion of a central narrative thread. The film begins with the image of a woman’s dead body, tangled in and obscured by a lantana bush. The investigation into this woman and how she came to die brings the film’s second half together compellingly. But it’s because of that first image that we are able to figure out who she is before the characters do, which casts events in a sad and sickeningly ironic light. By the time the whole thing’s over, you may or may not be considering the idea of love in a darker and more complex way. But you definitely will have seen Anthony LaPaglia cry and that’s worth it on its own.

We are very excited about the direction that the Battleship Pretension website has been going over the last year.  This is due in large part to the generous contributions of our bloggers, Kyle Anderson, Daniel Bergamini, Jack Fleischer, Josh Long, Scott Nye, and Matt Warren.

What could we have possibly done to deserve so great a film as Declaration of War so early in the year? The common wisdom is that this time of year is for schlock and the occasional film that rises above, but this…this isn’t one to be overestimated merely because of its release date. In fact, I saw this back in October, and have scarcely stopped thinking about it all the way through the mania of Oscar season. It’s a film that is uniquely its own thing, yet its antecedents couldn’t be clearer. It’s a film that seamlessly, seemingly effortlessly, blends the tension of a chase film from the 60s with musicals with French romances with medical dramas with American marriage-on-the-rocks pictures. How could any film move through such seemingly disparate genres in a mere 100 minutes and still feel completely honest? You should be so lucky to see.

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New from Criterion’s Eclipse line of films (“…lost, forgotten, or overshadowed classics in simple, affordable editions.”) is a selection of three documentaries from Jean- Pierre Gorin. Included in this package are three films from his “Southern California Trilogy,” Poto and Cabengo, Routine Pleasures, and My Crasy Life. Until presented with this collection, I was unaware of Gorin’s work. A film professor at UCSD, according to imdb his nickname amongst his students is “Totoro” because he only appears to those with a “pure heart.” Now, if you are worthy, your pure heart can experience his work for less than $50.

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As my time at Sundance 2012 limped across the finish line, I felt an all-too-predictable mixture of both sadness and relief. Part of me, of course, wants to live inside this insane bubble forever, rushing from venue to venue, buzzing hot on pure adrenaline. But I mostly realize that what makes something like Sundance so special is the very fact that it’s ephemeral. I mean, you wouldn’t want to have Christmas all the time either, right? Sundance is a rallying point, and it needs a fixed position on the calendar to retain its power. It’s the film nerd Coachella, or Burning Man. Except at the end instead of watching a reunited My Bloody Valentine or setting fire to a giant wicker pagan, you give Parker Posey a lifetime achievement award.

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This morning, film journalists, bloggers and fans dragged themselves out of bed to watch the 84^th annual Academy Awards nominations. And like always, it ended with disappointment, shock and the occasional pleasant surprise. The Academy Awards is one of the few film award shows that still holds some importance and prestige in the industry. That’s what makes this year’s nominations all the more frustrating, and at times, bewildering.

In a year when Melissa McCarthy’s shitting in a sink gets an Oscar nod, maybe it is time for us to stop analyzing on the cinematic significance of Oscar nominations.

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The following movies have been released on DVD and Blu Ray:

REAL STEEL

50/50

THE WHISTLEBLOWER

MOZART’S SISTER

RESTLESS

ANOTHER HAPPY DAY

BEST PICTURE
WAR HORSE
MONEYBALL
HUGO
THE HELP
THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
THE TREE OF LIFE

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And we’re back! Following Day Three’s snow-related travel complications, Sundance Day Four was clear, bright, and warm—perfect weather for watching movies indoors. By now I’m sure you’re sick of hearing me go on and on about how I go clomping around town like I own the goddamn place, so I’ll go ahead and keep the first-person stuff to a minimum. Besides, we all know what you’re really interested in: hot celebrity gossip.

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