Dave’s Film Festival: catching up

As you may recall, dear reader, some weeks back I began viewing selections for Dave’s Film Festival, a new event on the industry circuit that consists of me borrowing films from the local library, watching them, and giving you my thoughts on each. Unfortunately, while I’ve been keeping up with the viewings, I’ve been derelict in providing you with my analysis. And though, in the interest of time, I won’t give full recaps, I’ll play a little catch-up by telling you what was viewed, with brief summation of each (in order of viewing):

Serpico (1973) – A crime drama by director Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino. Gives the story of a hippie-loving cop who busts a corruption ring engulfing much of the New York City police force.

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) – A landmark film noir effort by director John Huston. Profiles a bank heist gone wrong, as well as the backstabbing and repercussions that follow.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Another Lumet/Pacino film, outlining yet another failed bank heist. Famous for the line “Attica!”, yelled repeatedly by Pacino to stir up the crowd outside and turn the event into a spectacle, which it was.

The Conversation (1974) – Starring Gene Hackman as a surveillance man struggling with regret and paranoia, this was the film Francis Ford Coppola made between the first two Godfather pictures, and it stands tall even compared to those.

Network (1976) – One more Lumet picture, this a somewhat farcical tale of a television news program overtaken by a ratings war and general ’70s decadence; famous for the line “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it any more!”, yelled by a news anchor. While that portion of the film was entertaining, an interwoven story line about a love triangle rang hollow and brought down the entire film.

The Fearless Freaks (2005) – A documentary about Oklahoma band The Flaming Lips by Oklahoma filmmaker Bradley Beesley, this was an entertaining look at one of the more daringly creative and influential rock bands around today.

Okie Noodling (2001) – Another documentary by Beesley, this time looking at the predominantly southern art of “noodling” or “hand-fishing”, which consists of shoving one’s hand in a mud hole in hopes of enticing a large catfish to latch on. Engrossing.

Barton Fink (1991) – One of the early critical successes by the film-making team of brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. Tells the story of a New York City playwright in the 1940s who attempts to make a go of it in Hollywood.

Solaris (2002) – Starring George Clooney, this is the second film version (the first was in 1972) of a Polish novel in which a mysterious planet plagues the astronauts orbiting it.