I Am Cuba (1964)

When we’re making our way through Criterion Month, there’s always the chance that some of the films we watch will feel a little like homework. So far, none of the movies I’ve reviewed have felt that way, since they’ve been to at least some extent, pretty entertaining. I Am Cuba, a joint production between Cuba and the Soviet Union, falls a bit into that category, since it’s a movie that really makes you use your brain while watching it, forcing you to grapple with the ideas behind it as well as the challenging style in which it chooses to express those ideas. Though at the same time, that style is pretty electric and innovative, so there is something inherently exciting about the way it forces you to do a little homework. Continue reading →

Il Sorpasso (1962)

An uptight person and a free spirit get in a car together, set off on the open road, and hijinks ensue. There are lots of types of road movies, but this formula feels like the most pure to me. I’m not sure how many movies tried this approach before Il Sorpasso, but I have to assume it wasn’t the first to attempt this dynamic, even if there’s still something so fresh about this movie that it feels like it might as well have invented the modern road dramedy. Which is a little odd to say, since it also embodies a very specific time in Italian history and filmmaking, where the neorealism of the country’s post-World War II morphed into something lighter and more carefree, as the country’s economic boom saw its citizens livin’ la dolce vita. Continue reading →

The Trial (1962)

Hello and welcome to my annual attempt at contributing to Criterion Month! This year, not only did I have the advantage of an extra month to prepare but also I drafted way more recent movies than Colin and John on average, so I had a light load to begin the month too. And yet… I still didn’t finish watching my first movie until just about midnight on the day I was supposed to post about it. What can I say at this point? You can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

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Invention For Destruction (1958)

In Criterion Months past, I reviewed two films in the box set, Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman. The first film I reviewed was Zeman’s 1962 adaptation of the folk tale The Fabulous Baron Munchausen, while a couple years later I reviewed Zeman’s recreation of prehistoric times in Journey To The Beginning of Time. With this entry, Invention For Destruction, I complete the trilogy of films in this box set as well as all of Zeman’s films in the Criterion Collection, and in the process have found what may be my favorite of the three. If nothing else, it’s the one that I find the most visually striking, as it sticks to a very specific visual milieu. And though it’s occasionally lacking in the storytelling department, it quite simply has some of the most stunning special effects in movies I’ve ever seen. Continue reading →

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

My first entry this Criterion Month is very steeped in the sci-fi of a very particular era – the 1950s, which was influenced by American paranoia over nuclear destruction and saw the rise of aliens from another world, giant insects, and creatures from black lagoons. 1957’s The Incredible Shrinking Man, focuses on something not quite as spectacular: a man who, as you might guess, can’t stop shrinking. It’s a fairly straightforward premise, but in the hands of B-movie maverick Jack Arnold and writer Richard Matheson, it becomes something as unsettling (and entertaining) as anything the era produced. Continue reading →

Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)

Welcome to Mildly Pleased’s 8th Annual Criterion Month! Yet again, Sean, Colin, and I will be reviewing stuffy, artsy, and probably long movies from the Criterion Collection for a whole month. So put down those sunglasses, drop that surfboard, and dim the lights—for cinematic purposes (not romantic). Pop some corn and join us for a journey into the world of le cinéma (the cinema).

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