:: The Blurst of Times ::

:: 8.29.2004 ::

The Moving Picture Review

Well, I can’t be serious all the time, can I? No, I can’t. And I watch movies. But I resolve to spend less time on movies that sucked and more time on movies that are actually worth saying something about. So away we go.

Zero Effect - It was funny. Not great, not critically acclaimed, but I enjoyed it and it seemed pretty smart - elaborate storyline and such.

The Wrong Guy - In my mind (the same mind that thinks Norm McDonald in Dirty Work is about the funniest fucking movie made in the 90’s) it doesn’t get much better than David Foley being an idiot. I’ll give him credit, he’s great at it. I laughed myself stupid. Stupid, I tell you. And Jennifer Tilly - yesssss.

The Searchers - Good. I think I told someone it was an anti-classic... is that proper terminology? If no one has said that before, can I coin it? It was troubling to watch, only for the reason that I don’t share the heroes’ beliefs. But, like many movies, the movie was only so-so until the ensuing discussion brought out the finer points. I need this forum people - it keeps me sharp.

Unforgiven - I kept waiting for this movie to really go over the edge, for Clint to just go apeshit and blast some folks. I have to say, it never really happened. Even the climax scene wasn’t what I thought it could be. I suppose the key here is that the movie is about the American West, not the romanticized version of the American West, where the good guy rides off into the sunset with the prostitute with a heart of gold. This is where guys die on the shitter, sheriffs are crooked, and the guys who kill them are drunks. So two movies where the idea of the ‘hero’ is skewed and distorted... almost to the point of reality, they weren’t Silverado, but they were good.

The Sopranos: Season 4 - This TV show (if I can humble it to call it that) has revolutionized how I look at TV. Never again will I strive to watch any TV show - I’ll just get it on DVD and watch it season by season. As far as the season itself, it was good, in a lot of ways more emotionally involving. Granted, I watch the other three seasons over a year ago, so the change might be in my, but it was killer to watch the family fall apart. I think it was made all the better by the fact that the third season wasn’t really up to par (except for the Barrons episode). I haven’t seen any of Season 5 (and the apparently upcoming Season 6), but I believe this was the season that begins the final descent into ruin. That’s a prediction, not a revelation of the conclusion, just a prediction.

Return to Me - These movies kill me, I’m a sucker for their charm. I’m smart enough to know that things like that could never happen in real life, but stupid enough to wish they did. I was funny, somehow original enough to hold my interest, not great and another fine example of how it’s great to be romantic as long as you have a lot of money to burn and are attractive. But I enjoy cultural humor, especially what was somehow a mix of Irish and Italian. A real feel-gooder.

Vanilla Sky - I know a certain someone is now saying ‘God, finally, he watched the fucking movie.’ I think I liked it, but I don’t know. On one hand, I appreciated the fact that the whole ‘surreality’ of the movie was explained in the end, to the character as much as to the viewer. It was even a memorable enough movie to go back and mentally rehash it and break it down once the proper revelations were made. All this as opposed to Mulholland Drive, which not only had to be explained to me numerous times, but I had to go back and rewatch parts just to make the explanation make sense. (Then I had to go back and rewatch some other parts, alone, in the dark... no wait, nevermind) But I can’t get around the fact that the whole premise of Vanilla Sky hinged upon a single man, who was incredibly rich and spoiled and lucky, and his vanity. And how he threw everything he cared about away because he couldn’t look himself in the mirror. Was there more? Cinematography and technicals aside, was there more to the underlying story than that?

Braveheart - Yeah, I’ve taken a lot of shit for not seeing this one earlier, but it felt too much like Top Gun to me - a movie that, despite the fact I have never seen it, I already knew everything about it. And I did. But it was good. For all the exact opposite reasons something like Unforgiven was good - the hero was pure and true, he came through everything unscathed (except for that last bit, but that was beyond his control), all the bad guys were bad and all the good guys were good. There was no grey. Alright, so I enjoyed it, it brought goosebumps at the end, but it was a movie for the sake of a happy ending.

See, you give me some time and I start to really get into the movies thing. It has been suggested that I begin Netflix. For many practical reasons, this sounds like a very good idea. Trust me, it is in consideration and I can only assume my readership here would be in full support. The only question is the commitment. And I don’t know if DVD’s fit in my mailbox.

“I used to wonder why did we bother. Distanced to one, blind to the other...”

:: Freddy F. at 9:27 PM [+] ::

Comments:

I've heard "The Wrong Guy" talked about much, as one of those really funny movies that never really had much of a theatrical run, and has since found an audience on video. Perhaps I'll become that audience.

Also: But I ask you this question-- Is it really more emotionally satisfying to be told exactly what was going on in a picture? My fault with Vanilla Sky isn't the possible message of vanity and power, but that it left nothing for to think about after I walked out of the theatre. For this, Donnie Darko and Mulholand Drive will always be ranked higher.

# posted by  RICK : 1:21 AM

 

Here's the thing about explaining movies: I need it. It's more beautiful to read the Inferno in Italian or read The Great Gatsby alone, but if you don't have the base level of knowledge to understand it, then all is lost. Subtitles may ruin the visual quality of a movie, they certainly take something away, but look at how much they add for someone who wouldn't otherwise understand the language. Cliff's notes aren't dignified, but in the end, when I'm on my own, I need them.

# posted by  Fred : 10:34 PM

 

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