Watch It: Raising Arizona

The end of our Queue de Grâce saga is in sight! We spent most of our week abroad, so it felt like coming home today to watch Raising Arizona (1982), starring Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter and directed by the brilliant Coen brothers. This loud explosive comedy is an ode to family. Meet the McDunnoughs and their baby, Junior. Don't they look normal?

Well, they are, in that each of these spouses, while devoted to family, is dealing with his and her own restless instincts. Herbert, also known as "Hi",  struggles with life as a stable head of the household after leaving behind the reliable chaotic rhythm of life as an outlaw. Edwina, also known as "Ed", has always been a model citizen, an officer of the law in fact, but is betrayed by her own body in realizing her dream to become a mother. And Junior? Well, he'd probably like to be home, but unfortunately for Ed, his home is not with her.

Today's Laszlo Line-up was the two oldest boys, who are too big to cuddle, and my little lap monster, Mae who cuddles like it's a competitive sport.

Perfect storyline. I liked it. It's about a guy, he keeps going back to jail because he keeps robbing convenience stores. It's so funny because when he's getting his mugshot taken, he falls in love with the cop who tells him to turn. She is not capable of bearing babies, so they steal one from a rich guy. And all this crazy stuff happens, like people keep trying to steal it and get the bounty. And in the end: happy fuzzy dreams. Watching it makes me feel like talking in a Texas accent.

 
 Because the baby fall down and the guy is taking the baby.

Joel and Ethan Coen have created a canon of films, all of which touched a spot in my head that I didn't even know was there. Raising Arizona was my first look at a Coen brothers film, way back when it first came out. I was thirteen and had never watched anything so weird, and wonderful. The dense poetic dialogue is at once eloquent and colloquial. Every word is lovingly chosen. This is the kind of movie you quote with your favorite friends and family members.

 This movie is called Raisin in the Soda. The ghost was running to the neck.


 

The Raising Soda is going to sleep on the bed. The baby is lie down to the bed. The baby holding the phone shaker. I like the movie.

So far, in this Queue de Grâce, I have loved all of the movies that Cole has chosen, and this one was no exception. Some of the jokes, I didn't get. I guess I would have had to grow up in my mom's generation to understand some of those things. Nevertheless, there were some jokes that made sense to me and were funny.


 

I saw it as a funny adult comedy movie about this reformed criminal (slightly reformed, I mean, he does go breaking into convenience stores again) and his wife who is a resigned cop.What I liked about this movie is that it's funny, but there are other genres that come through, towards the end. For example, I especially liked how he sees the tattoo on the bounty hunter,, and that's never explained. Also, Hi's dream at the end was sad and sentimental. 


 Quirky, it is, indeed; but these themes are universal. Domesticity is an odd prison, because it is one of our own making. A guy can think he's an outlaw all he wants. When he's in love and there's a baby to think of, things get real and, for some, it can feel like the wrong place to be. Even for those of us who cherish the sacrifices of settling down, there are still moments. This is the ultimate family movie for that reason. Here we all are! Now what?*

*Start a blog, that's what.
  
I'm giving you all the old head's up again on mature content. Guns are ablazing and fists are flying. Mae watched this with us, and we discussed how that was unacceptable behavior for her at this stage in her life. If she wants to go all Leonard Smalls on us as a grown-up someday, I suppose it might be my fault.
 

Watch It: A Shot in the Dark

Today's Queue de Grâce installment, A Shot in the Dark (1964), returns us to Paris, France, this time to solve a murder.*  Again, Geza was working, but the kids and I settled down for a rainy afternoon with Inspector Clouseau, as played by the mad genius chameleon actor: Peter Sellers.

 

*I swear, none of my kids did it. They all have rock solid alibis.

Blake Edwards directed this second film in the Pink Panther series, which will not disappoint fans of Inspector Clouseau and his commisioner-enraging ways. The story begins with a murder in a mansion, and the intrepid Inspector must find the murderer, even if the culprit might be the pretty parlor maid he likes. In execution of his job, Clouseau seemingly does nothing right, bumbling cartoonishly into one awkward situation after another. 

This movie cracked the little kids up with all of the splashy crashy falling, but there are pretty constant adult themes throughout. Cole dished it up for us because he knows we're "European."  It's still quite tame compared with many things kids watch these days, but if you're avoiding all of that as well, consider yourselves warned.

 This movie was extraordinary. It was a funny, grown-up movie. I'm not going to say a lot about it, but if you're trying to keep your children weak, than I think you should watch this by yourself.  This movie is grownup in a French way. 

A bully with a hat shot the sky. And sky was dead. Everybody was naked. They were playing music.




My favorite scenes of a Shot in the Dark are when Kato (played by Burt Kuok) attacked Inspector Clouseau; popping out when the Inspector would least expect it, to help keep his instincts sharp. I loved seeing these two actors together in these moments, imagining the outtakes.

 Something I noticed about this movie: There were a lot of parts that seemed oddly quiet to me and now I know why, it didn't have as much background music as movies nowadays. In current films, the actors have to say their lines with some kind of jauntiness, but back then, the conversation seemed very natural. No so "produced." Also, they end naturally instead of ending with some big flairy catch-phrase. It's kind of like watching a play on TV, only with bigger more realistic-looking sets.

 Good eye, Henry! How astute of you to notice that its style seemed born of the theater. The original screenplay was, in fact, based on an adaptation of a French play, "L'Idiote," by Marcel Archard.



Confession time: Mae didn't really say any of that. I've just been dying to make a joke like that all week. She sort of lost interest in A Shot in the Dark. once the opening credits cartoon ended. I can't blame her, I used to feel the same way about the Pink Panther movies when I was a kid.

Watch It: Go West

Four days into our fantastic Queue de Grâce voyage, and we're tagging along with Buster Keaton and Brown Eyes, in the grand frontier adventure, Go West.

This silent film, directed by and starring Buster Keaton in 1925, tells the tale of a young man named Friendless, who is practically penniless and must go out into the world to seek his fortune. While working on a ranch, he finds a friend in a dried-up, yet plucky, milk cow. I'm going to gush about Mr. Keaton in a few inches, but holy cow, this bovine is a scene-stealer! Her acting talent greatly surpasses that of Gwyneth Paltrow, an Academy Award Winning Actress.

Unfortunately, Geza's work schedule prevented him from being able to enjoy this one with us. He has seen many other Buster Keaton films and is a long-standing fan. So, he's cool, but he's not going to be able to offer anything here today.

Let's give the kids a turn:

This movie! Man, it's amazing how much Buster Keaton puts in just for a perfect shot. And it's wild to think that this is what he did for a living! Buster Keaton is extremely awesome. I love all of his movies. He risked his life to put a smile on your face.

They were falling on the train. They were barrels. A guy fell down on the train.

There was a grown-up, named Buster Keaton. On the train, the barrels fell out. There were potatoes in them. One barrel had Buster Keaton, it fell. It rolled out of the train and it broke. There were a million bulls. They chased him. He rode on the cow.

The film was very funny. I loved it a lot. To think that back then, when making the stampede scene, they didn't have computers to generate bull images. Nowadays, they'd just cut and paste over and over and over to make animated bulls. I'm thinking of how hard it must have been to make these movies, with such limited effects; it's impressive. 

The cows is running inside. These cows are running to the neck.






It is rare that I will get all up in a reader's face and say, "Look, this thing, you need it in your life." But, this is one of those special moments. Buster Keaton, anything with Buster Keaton: watch it.

The Great Stone Face is unlike any performer from his era. The effervescence of his clever gags and plot twists is complemented perfectly by his serious demeanor and dry delivery. If you watch any Buster Keaton film and aren't completely in love with the guy by the end of it, I will eat Thomas' least favorite fedora.

Watch It: A Town Called Panic

 I think we've reached the peak of madness with today's entry.  Our queue travels have taken us to Egypt, Paris, France, and, most recently, A Town Called Panic (also probably in France).

This French language, stop-motion thrill-ride, directed by Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, is goofy, frenetic, and clever. There are three main characters, a Horse, Cowboy, and Indian, and they have their goals and conflicts, sure, sure, but besides that, zany action, gags, and wild zippy kookiness bubble up constantly behind and around every scene.. There's really no point in trying to explain the plot in any way that attempts to make sense. Making sense is not this film's primary goal.

 So, you can imagine, it was a BLAST to watch with young kids. Our couch shook with laughter.

This movie is funny: ha ha and weird. There was a horse and there was an Indian and there was a Cowboy. They built a house. They got fifty million bricks.

 The story is written in the tradition of a tall tale, with lots of unexpected and fantastical events. My favorite detail was the quintessential french country postman, on his bicycle. I've seen that sort of character in lots of French movies.



This movie was hilarious, I loved every bit. I especially liked how the animation was done with little plastic toys. I wonder how long it took to make this movie because, for one thing, it's animated which always takes a while to make. Also the movie is about an hour and fifteen minutes long and it's not badly animated, so that must have taken a lot of time to create. Another thing I thought was really cool were the little sets they made, the village, the underwater town, the music school were exquisitely done.

The movie is funny! The horse was on the TV and the cowboy was in a snowball. The horse is dancing. Pictures. It's going under the water, in the snowball.

It's extremely funny. The way they sculpted all of those little action figures, and the way they moved around, hilarious. I'm not going to spoil it for other people, but there are some extremely breathtaking parts. If you watch this movie, then by the end of it, you'll probably be wiping your face, on the floor. 

 

We have exhausted our internal thesauruses in attempts to convey that this film is highly comedic. If you are mad at the world and don't want to stay that way, check out A Town Called Panic. You laugh, hold your breath, laugh, stare agape, laugh, and laugh.   

Watch It: The Red Balloon

We're on day two of our Queue de Grâce challenge, and things have taken a radical turn. We scamper out of the shadowy world of The Mummy and find ourselves bouncing cheerfully around Paris, France with Albert Lamorisse's The Red Balloon. (1956)

Let me warn you right now, if you haven't seen this film, and you'd like to, we are about to spoil the ending for you. If you'd like to be surprised by what happens, stop reading here. But, by all means, watch The Red Balloon on Netflix and come back to the party.


He got the red balloon. It was on the wall. He climbed up.

As somebody who wants to go to France someday, I thought this movie's setting was beautiful. Paris looks like a lovely place, and I'd like to go and visit it while I am in France some day. The cobblestone streets and the architecture, it looks like a beautiful place to grow up in, except for all of the mean schoolmates.



This film will always hold a special place in my heart.; a perfect little slice of life as a child in Paris, it is spare in dialogue, plot, and running time. Don't let that make you think it is frivolous; there is a lot being said here. As the main character, a little boy, finds his inflated companion and carries it around for the day, we see all of the elements of life in a bustling city play out in the background. Here is a statement about young and old humans, from all walks of life, and everything they do for and to each other. As Henry said, during the movie, "That balloon represents something! I just can't put my finger on it!" It does, indeed.

 

We all have our words for it, "childhood," "happiness", "joy", whatever it is, it's whimsical, fleeting, and somewhat obnoxious to adults who work in buildings and on trolleys.

To me, the red balloon represents childhood, with its different aspects: playfulness, curiosity, imagination, bonding, separation, friendship, and independence. The movie reminds us of what it's like to be a child. When the balloon follows the trolley, it flies into every nook down the sidewalk, like a child would look into every interesting little corner.



The red balloon is outside, popping! The boy is popping the balloon.







The red balloon popped. The little boy was sad because the red balloon popped. He had more balloons and he flew away.

This time, what stuck out to me most was the effect of how they were able to make the balloon follow the boy around. Also, how they made all of the balloons move in the end. It must have taken a lot of work and a lot of balloons to make this movie possible.Even still, there are some parts where the effects baffle me. Like, when he was on the trolley, how did they make the balloon follow the trolley without it looking like the trolley was just pulling the balloon along?

At first, when I saw all of the balloons, flying out of their master's hands and windows, to go to the boy, I thought they might avenge their fallen comrade by attacking the boys who destroyed it. But it did make for a happy ending, because instead of killing all of the school children, they lifted the boy into the sky. they cheered him up. It's like the very first Up, for those who have seen that movie.


A very simple story. Just right off the bat. Man, France is a really great place. I even know what the balloon represents: childhood. Bright, light, fragile, mischievous.  It was a nice little calming story, but I just wonder where he's going to keep all of those darn balloons.

 For its lightness, and its depth, it is the perfect movie for any family. If you watch it with kids, you won't likely have to remind them to sit still and pay attention often. Every second is like a page from a children's book. It will transport you to Paris, France, and lift you away.