This week was a little slow, so I’ve reviewed a few of the movies I forgot to review last week. I almost reviewed the Firefly DVD boxed set as well, but since it’s not technically a movie, I chickened out. Still, you’ll never be as cool as me until you’ve watched every episode while cursing Fox under your breath.

The Shining (1980)

On the one hand, The Shining is technically brilliant, which is typical of Kubrick. On the other hand, the plot is ploddingly slow and the climax is dissapointingly anticlimactic, especially after the long buildup. Still, I found it hard to lose interest, since nearly every shot is an incredible achievement in lighting, framing, camera movement, etc. Yet despite all the long, pretty Steadicam shots, I don’t imagine I’d be able to sit through this again.

S.O.B. (1981)

Blake Edwards’ movies are usually a combination of really funny stuff and incredibly unfunny or awkward stuff that should have been cut. S.O.B. is no exception, and unfortunately, unlike many Edwards movies, it doesn’t have Peter Sellers in it to make up for its shortcomings. If there were about twenty minutes less of Julie Andrews’ terrible film-within-a-film song and dance routines, I’d probably recommend this movie. There are quite a few scenes with hilarious dialog that really had me laughing, but alas, those scenes are ruined by the muck in which they’re embedded.

Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993)

Krzysztof Kieslowski really knows where to put a camera, how to move a camera, and, more importantly, how to create, maintain, and manipulate a mood using images and music. I was hooked from the first shot. I only wish I knew French so I wouldn’t have to tear my eyes away from the images to read the subtitles.

Trois couleurs: Bialy (1994)

This is my favorite of Kieslowski’s Three Colors, probably because it’s the least serious of the three. It manages to be funny, heartbreaking, and profound without crossing into pretentiousness. Also, Julie Delpy is a fox.

Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994)

An intriguing story about coincidence and morality. Kieslowski brings the Three Colors to an end with a brilliant epiphany that manages to add strength to the message of Rouge by extending the meanings of Bleu and Bialy. This is an incredible work of creation. Each of the films is excellent and can stand alone, but seen together, they reveal new and more intriguing layers of complexity. I highly recommend the entire trilogy.

Titus (1999)

There’s a delicious irony in the fact that Shakespeare’s darkest and most violent play provides the basis for such a beautiful movie. The conflict of emotions this creates is not unlike the conflict experienced by Titus Andronicus. Titus is what happens when you combine an inspired director and a cast that knows what to do with Shakespeare. Also, I have to admit I’m a big sucker for fancy ending shots, and the final shot of Titus comes in just beneath the final shot of Magnolia on my list of all time favorite ending shots. Eat your heart out, Kenneth Branagh.