What is Nick's List? Here's teacher Nick Otten's description, "I will read books and watch movies, and then tell you about them. All kinds of books. All kinds of movies. One often leads me to the other.

"For every single work, I’ll quickly post a brief commentary — each week, at least 1 book and 2 movies, usually more. Maybe a paragraph, maybe a page. Sometimes, not often, I may go crazy and write some kind of extra on a movie or pair of movies or some genre, actor, or something else, or how one book relates to another or a movie or you or me or us."

Movie 29

In Bruges
(Martin McDonagh, UK, 2008, 107 m.)

I don’t always like movies in which everybody has a thick foreign accent — including in this case the two main characters, Irish killers — but that’s no interference in this story. This is a hitman movie, but it’s weirdly warm and funny, despite the usual and sometimes not-so-usual gruesome elements. The story starts quietly and lulls you with a lot of silly, rough talk, but then it grabs you and won’t let go. The night I watched it, the film broke after 30 minutes, and nobody seemed to care — we were so softened up by the goofy developments on the screen that the stoppage nearly seemed like another wry joke. How often does that happen? With good comic work by Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes, plus Brendan Gleeson (Mad-Eye Moody in the Harry Potter movies and riveting in Into the West (1992).

Movie 28

Forbidden Quest
(Kim Tae-woo, S. Korea, 2006, 139 m.)

The last from the Korean Film Festival. The English title is terrible. It could have been called “Forbidden” or maybe “The Nobleman Takes Off His Hat,” but there is no ‘quest’ except in the most subtle metaphorical sense. This is a very sexy movie, without showing any more skin than a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Actually less, but it is sometimes a turn-on. A noble courtier who is also a great writer gets himself tangled up in writing erotic novels. He enlists other highly ranked nobility and eventually the story has to turn tragic. But in the meantime, it’s both erotic and hilarious. The ending is a mess, but oh, man, it’s not possible to predict some of the silly postmodern jokes that surface in this movie. I want my own copy.

Movie 27

Crossing the Line
(Daniel Gordon, UK, 2007, doc., 94 m.)

A genuinely strange British documentary about US deserters in the Korean War, some still there, with wives and families, and arguing with each other about who’s lying to whom. Thought-provoking as something can be when you simply would never have imagined such a story. Who thinks about the Korean War these days? — and yet the autobiography of one of the men was reviewed just one week later in The New Yorker. Surprises can come easy with documentaries.

Movie 26

A Flower in Hell
(Sin Sangok, Korea, 1958, 87 m.)

Supposedly a Korean classic of early noir but it just seemed amateur to me. A younger brother tries to save older brother from a floozy babe, but obsessive love brings them all down.

Movie 25

The Grace Lee Project
(Grace Lee, 2005, doc., 68 m.)

The first of four in a row, one a day, all from the second Korean Film Festival at Washington University — and free. A clever little documentary about all the Asian women named Grace Lee, which includes the director, of course, who’s on a wry search for herself by studying the other women who have her name.

Movie 24

There Will Be Blood (2x)

(Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007, 158 m.)

Even better on second viewing. The score is superb, the directing and editing are superb. It’s like a silent movie, like Citizen Kane in color, like a trip into the suppressed hell of a man who lives only to compete. His two tentative forays into (family) love prove to be unsatisfactory, and serve only to make him less human and more astonishing. Probably one of the great screen portrayals ever — by Daniel Day-Lewis. Utterly ferocious. Maybe an instant classic, as they say.

Movie 23

The Other Boleyn Girl
(Justin Chadwick, UK/US 2008, 115 m.)

Sexual politics meets family politics — not a pretty picture. Or a nice family. We may never see the end of American movies explaining Henry VIII. And oh sorry, but the carriages weren’t around in those days, although I know nobody ever expects much real history out of Hollywood. Even so, the catty-sister infighting of Anne and Mary Boleyn seems to be a construct from the arguable novel. The real Anne Boleyn was apparently at least as complex as her more famous daughter, Elizabeth, and far beyond the get-back-at-my-sister sulking of the movie. The end result is a kind of serious chick flick that dabbles in politics.

Movie 22

Vantage Point
(Pete Travis, 2007-8, 90 m.)

Exciting as hell. No more realistic than a James Bond movie. First, they kill the President over and over. Later, they save him. That satisfies most movie viewers. 24 meets The Day of the Jackal meets.

Movie 21

10,000 B.C.
(Roland Emmerich, 2008, 109 m.)

Misnamed by half. They should have called it 5,000 B.C. Of course, that still leaves big trouble over the wooly mammoths and saber tooth tigers, all roaming around near the Nile, I guess, thousands of years too late. Oh, well. Lots of fun and some weirder-than-usual warfare for a change. Gathering all the tribes and organizing with a translator! A sort of inverse of The 300. While none of the heroic savages was oiled-up for weight-training like the Greeks stopping the Persians, these elephant hunters still looked good, with excellent dental work but hardly any cleanliness. And talk about obsessing over a woman! Who would have thought that men back then could be so gentlemanly, compared to now? What backsliders. No light porn, here, if that’s what you’re after. These people actually aren’t very savage.

Movie 20

Flawless
(Michael Radford, UK, 2007, 108 min.)

A snappy new heist movie with Michael Caine and Demi Moore. And she’s not bad! Maybe she’s trying to clean up her rude-girl image and get sophisticated. If so, she’s off to a good start. She’s much more like Grace Kelly than Madonna — for once. She is beautiful, after all. As always, Caine is excellent. Set in 1960 London with 1million grey suits and year-round grey weather.

Movie 19

A Scanner Darkly
(Richard Linklater, 2006, animated live. action, 100 m.)

It gets cooler with more viewings. When I first saw it on a big screen, it mostly dazzled and confused me with the funky super-imposed animation and the jazz dialog. But it’s more than a temporary CGI trick, I think. After all, this is a tale by Philip K. Dick, folks. And it’s a real caution. This is what a summer movie — unlike the Will Smith I, Robot movie — should have felt like, but didn’t. But I’m probably just prejudiced because of how they took Asimov’s title and screwed up that whole story. I think this may be the third time I’m whining about that movie. But this movie is cool. And how many titles allude to St. Paul?

Movie 18

Rocky Balboa
(Sylvester Stallone, 2006, 102 m.)

A self-conscious “last hurrah,” which includes even that phrase, along with a literal tour of all the important places in Rocky’s original movie (54., above), such as the pet shop and ice rink where he wooed Adrian, plus ghostly images of Adrian all over his house and car and in his head. Aside from the litany of “This Is Your Life” Moments from the first movie, the story is really an excuse for The Stallion to show us that he is still “cut” (at the age of 60, folks!) and still has his original will of steel, even if that’s about all that’s left. The most embarrassing moments come at the end when old Rocky, written, directed, and played by old Stallone, humbly and happily accepts the accolades of an idol- worshipping crowd in Las Vegas. While a touch of wit does still surface, mostly the movie feels like Burt Young coming close to tears to confess yet again that he was always bad, while Rocky was good. While the credits roll, nearly half of the people of Philadelphia do the notorious victory dance on the steps overlooking the city: little girls and old people and obese people and maybe even one or two from Pittsburgh, as if to say, Rocky is not only beloved, he’s real and living in you and me. Humble? And Rambo will be coming back to big screens this year.

Movie 17

The Rape of Europa
(Richard Berge & Bonni Cohen, 2006, documentary, 117 m.)

A suspense-filled movie about the long and concerted effort of Nazi Germany to grab Europe’s great art for themselves. Shows just how crazy Hitler could be, just how greedy and selfish other Nazis could be, just how surprisingly close the Indiana Jones movies come to the weird levels of cultural attack that the Nazis were contemplating. For all the people who think that art doesn’t matter — think again. We live on the symbols. That’s why Nicolas Cage can even get away with kidnapping the president in National Treasure.

Movie 16

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(Steven Spielberg, 1989, 126 m.)

Hot blonde Nazis are way better than old monocled Nazis. Plus James Bond as Indie’s cool, cranky Dad! But, please! A 700-year-old knight who apparently doesn’t eat or — do NOT think about what you would do for seven hundred years without leaving the room. Also, the 4-DVD collection has an entire three hour disc of good bonus material.

Movie 15

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(Steven Spielberg, 1984, 118 m.)

This one is even weirder than God coming out of an ark. If I were from India, I think this movie might bug me. Wait. Do NOT think too much about world religions, if you want to enjoy this movie.

Movie 14

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(Steven Spielberg, 1981, 115 m.)

In the beginning, Indie saved the world from the Nazis with some spectacular reactions from JHVH. As long as you remember that Lucas’s original idea was to replicate the Saturday-morning serials of his youth, these stories are sheer fun. Do NOT think too much about realities or politics during these movies.

Movie 13

Youth Without Youth
(Francis Ford Coppola, 2007, 124 m.)

Almost mystical, definitely personal, with a beautifully shot and somewhat strange story. The story is far less weird than many foolish Hollywood fantasies, but the difference is that Coppola isn’t trying to make a buck — in fact, he very deliberately made the movie on his own, with his own money, for the artistic and editorial freedom to do as he pleased — he’s trying to make a philosophical point. Not the usual for a movie. And I think his point is quite clear, which may be a problem. What happens if his audiences dislike his point or disbelieve it? Will that undo the movie? Such an interesting risk! Would people read and enjoy a well-written book, even if they disagreed with its premise, the argument, and the conclusion? Will they watch such a movie? We’ll see.

Movie 12

Two Mules for Sister Sara
(Don Siegel, 1970, 116 m.)

More of a Don Seigel movie than a Clint Eastwood movie, this charmer has the big guy matched line-for-line by a saucy pretty young Shirley MacLaine who considerably humanizes the whole story with her sophisticated version of the old nun/whore male fantasy. I suppose the 2^nd “mule” in the title is Hogan, the stubborn cowboy who saves her.

Move 11

Joe Kidd
(John Sturges, 1972, 88 m.)

From an Elmore Leonard novel. This is a good movie and fun, but it’s not up to the level of his The Great Escape or even Bad Day at Black Rock. Maybe it’s John Saxon, maybe it’s the weak ending, but at least it has some fun in it. Clint Eastwood is a reluctant bounty hunter and shows a little humor.

Movie 10

High Plains Drifter
(Clint Eastwood, 1973, 105 m.)

From a package of “3 Clint Eastwood Westerns.” This is retrograde old-style stuff. He rides in, utterly filthy, a classic stranger, and then “has to” kill 3 bullies. Then he rapes a loudmouth woman who needs to be raped, the way the bullies needed to be killed. Vague and unsupported bits of mysticism float all through the movie. While the main character is named The Stranger, this is more nasty Shane than cool Camus.

Movie 9

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse
(Eleanor Coppola, 1991, documentary, 96 minutes)

Her documentary of her husband’s movie, Apocalypse Now, shot while he was making the famous 1979 movie based on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, re-set in the Vietnam War. Originally intended as a 5-minute promo for Showtime on TV, it was shown theatrically, won an Emmy and ended up on Gene Siskel’s Top 10 list for 1991. Only recently released in DVD, it also includes a commentary from both Eleanor and Francis Coppola. Along with Lost in La Mancha, I think this is an excellent view of the weird good and bad luck that goes into the task of movie-making — and she doesn’t even touch on the astonishing amount of post-production — over 2 years! — or consider the amazing musical score. Includes her new documentary of FFC’s recent 62-minute movie, Youth Without Youth, after 10 years of no filmmaking.

Movie 8

Diary of a Lost Girl
(G. W. Pabst, GER, 1929, b&w, silent, 116 m. King Video DVD, remastered)

This movie is the second in the famous pair made by Pabst with Louise Brooks. The first was Pandora’s Box. This one is not quite as good, but still striking, and with a more “human” story, evident even in the two titles. Brooks as “little Thymian,” is callously ruined, discarded, uplifted and makes her way, all despite her own family. Aside from one genuinely stupid comic scene, this story is compelling and sad. Brooks is riveting on the screen, though not as much as in Pandora’s Box. Both movies are way ahead of their time in depicting real-life sex and sin.

Movie 7

Wild at Heart
(David Lynch, 1990, 124 m.)

Breasts and symbols and hot, hot colors and slow, slow music, usually guitars, and many, many strange moments that include Elvis, The Wizard of Oz and body parts (a David Lynch specialty). I remember being dumbfounded by this movie when it came out — how would a viewer fit it into any kind of normal experience? So I was speechless at the insistent nastiness. And all in the name of love. The idea of Diane Ladd playing the murderous mother to her own daughter, Laura Dern, in this freaky movie is downright odd. The idea of the French giving the movie The Golden Palm at Cannes is also a freaky notion, instead of, for instance, Goodfellas or Ju Dou in the same year. Oh, well. Even so, Willem Dafoe was brilliant as the devilish Bobby Peru.

I slept on it and realized what bugged me so much about watching the film again: the casual use of time, as if it’s a joke. People in this movie don’t seem to think much about the famous “ravages of time.” Maybe that’s just obsolete, changed to nips and tucks. Sailor can go to jail for a few seconds as a joke on a card: “5 years, 10 months, 21 days later.” When he comes out, his loving Lula, no longer a 20-year-old, actually looks better after raising a boy alone while Daddy is in jail for armed robbery and attempted murder. And he’s cute, too, shy and smiling for Daddy, not troubled or angry. And Mommy still has her still perfect classic convertible. No wear or tear on anybody or anything. Even the Wicked Witch doesn’t age. Maybe dark humor means never having to say that pain is real. You can almost see Quentin Tarantino taking notes as he watches brains splatter and the cards announce funny time-shifts and people make cool pulpy wisecracks. I think that’s fine in, say, Eraserhead or Suture or even Pulp Fiction, but have a heart, Lynch, a real heart. The casual misuse of human time in a movie is like the casual misuse of space in a painting — things get to look wrongly unreal, even if they are hot and flamboyant.

Movie 6

Rocky
(John G. Avildsen, 1976, 120 m.)

The legendary movie that made a star of Sylvester Stallone and the mall in Philadelphia. Almost better than I remember it from the theater. Curiously, I did not remember how much he had been watching Marlo Brando movies. The iconic moments are still strong: Rocky on the steps in his nasty sweats, and swallowing five raw eggs for breakfast, or screaming for Stella, excuse me, Adrian, from the ring, half-blinded and bloodied. He deserved that Oscar for Best Screenplay, though I don’t know if we deserved to live with the franchise that followed. His anti-intellectual street-philosophical yo-Paulie dialog is now an interesting contrast to that later boy-wonder script for Good Will Hunting by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Movie 5

Chicken Little
(Mark Dindal, 2005, animated, 81 m.)

A solid Walt Disney story. I watched i t on DVD on my laptop with an 8-year-old who would sporadically switch it to the dubbed French-language version and then laugh uproariously. The dialog and allusions are often very clever and adult, which doesn’t matter. The visuals are hilarious. Needless to say, this cartoon doesn’t give the old version, ending with Foxy Loxy eating five idiotic fowls.

Movie 4

Little Big Man
(Arthur Penn, 1970, 139 m.)

I remember the shock of seeing this movie in the theater. The Western had not yet been declared “dead,” although many shots had recently been fired, especially including Midnight Cowboy (1969) just the year before. But half of the neighborhood taverns in the USA still had giant murals of “Custer’s Last Stand” on their walls, and he was still a martyred hero, all over the country. Only Civil War historians seemed to know that he was one of the worst students in his West Point class and widely criticized as stupid, lucky and reckless in the Civil War. But soon enough, with many revisionist histories, such as Custer Died for Your Sins (1969) and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1970), Americans began to rethink “Indian” issues very seriously. The US was also smack in the middle of the Vietnam controversy, and what soon happened was that the conservatives & hawks (e.g., John Wayne) became symbolic “cowboys” and the liberals and doves (e.g., hippies) became the “opposing” symbolic Indians. All over the country, you could identify people who were anti-Vietnam just by seeing their “Indians” dress, including rawhide jackets and moccasins and even hairbands. This movie was a part of the “liberal” movement, with Dustin Hoffman, who’d taken on Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate and had played Ratso in Midnight Cowboy only to lose the Oscar for Best Actor to John Wayne in True Grit, who was praised for courageously playing the fat old man he had become. Still, Midnight Cowboy won for Best Picture and Director, so the question of which movie’s “politics” was “winning” remained a hot issue.  Little Big Man had a tremendous effect, partly because it was anti-hypocrisy, also sexy, and also very funny, particularly in “Old Lodge Skins,” played by Chief Dan George. Americans love underdogs and this movie made the Washita Massacre even worse than it apparently had been, and portrayed Custer as vain and stupid beyond belief, and maybe insane.

Movie 3

Persepolis
(Marjane Satrapi, 2007, animated autobiography/documentary, 95 m.)

Fine story-telling in yet another new kind of story-medium: a full-length animated autobiography. After just recently reading a full-length book of graphic-novel-style journalism about Serbia, I’m ready to re-consider the entire issue of cartooning. Some very serious work is happening in the graphic cartoon format. The frightening question is: Will cartoons replace books? I’ve been thinking about the cartooning of American movies for some years. The two issues may be converging. This movie was an Oscar nominee for feature animation, but it didn’t have a chance in the year of Ratatouille.

Movie 2

Curse of the Jade Scorpion
(Woody Allen, 2001, 102 m.)

Embarrassing, although it is at least occasionally funny. On the evidence of this effort, at least, Woody Allen ought to stop making movies with himself in them. And judging from the wooden performances of Dan Aykroyd and Helen Hunt, he should maybe stop directing and casting, too. I never heard of this movie, which I got from the public library, and I can certainly see why. He also wastes the lovely Charlize Theron in this one.

Movie 1

The Spiderwick Chronicles
(Mark Waters, 2008, 107 m.)

Mildly interesting but not really ever scary. The critters that I wanted to be cute were ugly, and the ones I expected to be scary were merely predictable. And it’s another story about bad dads. They are everywhere in the movies.