I'm sorry these keep coming so often. My movie watching has been sparse, disappointing and perplexing. Also, my above title is partially in reference to the absurdity of the Hobbit trilogy. I have read Jackson's explanation and hope that I'm wrong, but they are devoting three movies to a book shorter than any of the portions of The Lord of the Rings.
I watched Snow White and the Huntsman and was marginally happy with it. I may even have given it five stars, but I am loathe to review it and thus I shall not. It's not bad fare if one has a thing, as I do, for items derivative in nature.
I have been working slowly through The Wizard of Oz and I find it vastly inferior in scope, scale, and interest to the book. That I would suggest to any fan of classical fantasy. In that version, the Tin Woodsman (more aptly named, I know) beheads an army of 40 wolves that the Wicked Witch of the West sends at him. That is one of the many public domain books for which I'd like to write an extremely faithful screenplay.
A very disturbing, if morbidly enjoyable film that I also watched is entitled God Bless America or maybe god bless america. The latter was in the credits. It begins by using a middle-aged everyman (Fred Rumsen from Mad Men) to indict us as a cynical and both morally and creatively devoid culture. He proceeds to brutally murder the icons of that culture: reality TV stars, belligerent, rude political talk show hosts, and angry, mean-spirited competition show judges. This would be enough to fill a movie, but he includes a very interesting dynamic with a young, female accomplice who goes on the road with him and does her fair share of killing. This movie's problem is in the over-the-top style that makes us used to the idea that way more people deserve to die than do and that murderous vigilantism is cool. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for vigilantism, but my too favorites, Batman and Spider-Man, follow the same obvious rule: thou shalt not kill.
I also watched The Debt. This film was alright, but it left me feeling something was missing. I cannot describe it well, but the script lacked things to make me care about the characters or maybe the only character I cared about died too soon and I spent the rest of the film waiting for Helen Mirren to murder an old Nazi.
The last film I finished was entitled Take Shelter. I am endlessly perplexed by this film and I definitely need to see it again before reviewing it. Also, I know I need to see The Dark Knight Rises again and rerate it. It may not be possible that it could stand up to further scrutiny. I don't know.
I watched Magnolia while on vacation and I feel it was too long ago to review now. I will try to review the next good film I see. Until then, au revoir.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
The Other Guys** (2010) 10, 10, 9.5
Finally, I watched The Other Guys and I was reminded. I know some people probably thought that my rating of The Dark Knight Rises was over the top. I was myself blown away by that rating when it came out. I'm amazed how movies bully me. Some movies simply demand ratings. I know one friend, an old teacher of mine, that simply doesn't find Will Ferrell funny, by his word. He will not understand probably why this movie makes me ashamed of other 10's I gave for wit. Like one of my favorite shows that's still on, Community, this show is so packed with jokes that if you watch it multiple times, you will undoubtedly find that you laughed through jokes that you only hear the second time. Let me break some stuff down.
Wit is a 10, as I said. I cannot stress how witty this film is. Nearly every line is another joke. Nothing goes to waste. This is unrealistic. If you require realism of comedy for it to be worth it, then this is not for you. I lived with a guy who preferred a miserable little Matthew Perry sitcom, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, to its near contemporary, 30 Rock, because it had a more believable story. I prefer outlandish comedy. Whether it's Wes Anderson with beautiful, yet rationally unbelievable stories or Human Giant with none or Arrested Development somewhere in the middle, I want it to be funny because it's true in an over the top sort of way. I still need some truth to be revealed, as it is in The Other Guys.
Before I move on to wisdom, some highlights are in order: Eva Mended singing "Pimps Don't Cry" softly to Will Ferrell. Mark Wahlberg admitting that he learned ballet to make fun of the 'fairies' in his neighborhood growing up. Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr. at a grade school career day, giving the advice on staying out of prison, "try your hardest not to be black or hispanic." Will Ferrell turning on Mark Wahlberg who's just explained that he would go out of his food chain to eat him if they were animals. Will Ferrell busts out facts and info on lions and tuna and finishes with the line, "Did that go the way you thought it was going to go? Nope." I really could go on.
As far as wisdom goes, it is a biting satire of the financial industry and our country in general. We idolize idiots who don't change anything and we continue to find loopholes for the devil to get out through. It begins by questioning our super action heroes who get in car chases and shoot guns about nothing while ignoring "boring" crime. It continues by mocking the group among us that idolize excess. This is different than admiring success. This faux capitalism is not about freeing people to better their lives, but seeking to open the way toward hedonist excess through fake money-making. Dante suggested in the Inferno that homosexuals and usurers belonged together in hello because while the former sought to turn things meant for creation to dead ends, usurers sought to turn dead means to creative ends, thus subverting the natural order. There is an ugly truth about how we have created whole classes full of people based on insane and immoral systems. I feel very strongly about "financial products," the judicial and tax systems, and any form of government oversight. They are all sources of great corruption, though I believe that they need to be reformed and not abolished
The 9.5 that I gave for wonder is a little hard to explain. The car chases are fun and lots of great explosions happen throughout the movie. Music is chosen well and the director seems to have put together an extraordinary film. That is all I have. I need to get this review up as I have seen many other movies since this one and need to move on. I cannot recommend it more. I expect to review Magnolia next, which I watched while in Chicago on school business. I hope you all enjoy this.
I am also excited to mention that I just went over 500 pageviews this last week sometime. Thank you to all who read this and come back.
Wit is a 10, as I said. I cannot stress how witty this film is. Nearly every line is another joke. Nothing goes to waste. This is unrealistic. If you require realism of comedy for it to be worth it, then this is not for you. I lived with a guy who preferred a miserable little Matthew Perry sitcom, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, to its near contemporary, 30 Rock, because it had a more believable story. I prefer outlandish comedy. Whether it's Wes Anderson with beautiful, yet rationally unbelievable stories or Human Giant with none or Arrested Development somewhere in the middle, I want it to be funny because it's true in an over the top sort of way. I still need some truth to be revealed, as it is in The Other Guys.
Before I move on to wisdom, some highlights are in order: Eva Mended singing "Pimps Don't Cry" softly to Will Ferrell. Mark Wahlberg admitting that he learned ballet to make fun of the 'fairies' in his neighborhood growing up. Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr. at a grade school career day, giving the advice on staying out of prison, "try your hardest not to be black or hispanic." Will Ferrell turning on Mark Wahlberg who's just explained that he would go out of his food chain to eat him if they were animals. Will Ferrell busts out facts and info on lions and tuna and finishes with the line, "Did that go the way you thought it was going to go? Nope." I really could go on.
As far as wisdom goes, it is a biting satire of the financial industry and our country in general. We idolize idiots who don't change anything and we continue to find loopholes for the devil to get out through. It begins by questioning our super action heroes who get in car chases and shoot guns about nothing while ignoring "boring" crime. It continues by mocking the group among us that idolize excess. This is different than admiring success. This faux capitalism is not about freeing people to better their lives, but seeking to open the way toward hedonist excess through fake money-making. Dante suggested in the Inferno that homosexuals and usurers belonged together in hello because while the former sought to turn things meant for creation to dead ends, usurers sought to turn dead means to creative ends, thus subverting the natural order. There is an ugly truth about how we have created whole classes full of people based on insane and immoral systems. I feel very strongly about "financial products," the judicial and tax systems, and any form of government oversight. They are all sources of great corruption, though I believe that they need to be reformed and not abolished
The 9.5 that I gave for wonder is a little hard to explain. The car chases are fun and lots of great explosions happen throughout the movie. Music is chosen well and the director seems to have put together an extraordinary film. That is all I have. I need to get this review up as I have seen many other movies since this one and need to move on. I cannot recommend it more. I expect to review Magnolia next, which I watched while in Chicago on school business. I hope you all enjoy this.
I am also excited to mention that I just went over 500 pageviews this last week sometime. Thank you to all who read this and come back.
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