Tag: film

Fargo

~ Mark

Fargo. First off, how is this movie 19 years old now? Second, it’s great. Some of the gee-golly-dontcha-know Midwestern charm doesn’t age as well, but it does a wonderful job of nudging these great characters along, and switching between their scenes. McDormand and Macy are geniuses. I realized when watching this time that Stomare’s Grimsrud character is something of an early variation of Waingro, and anticipates their own rendition of Chigurh, too. As for the based on a true story part:

If an audience believes that something’s based on a real event, it gives you permission to do things they might otherwise not accept.

The Silence of the Lambs

~ Mark

The Silence of the Lambs. Absurdly great movie. Its greatest strength is its exploration of institutional sexism and the constant, relentless challenge of demanding respect and getting her shit done without it. Combines some great slow-burn mystery/thriller tactics with occasional over-the-top violence and just enough sly humor. The pacing and the ties between scenes are brilliant. I also appreciate the small bits of foreshadowing and “warm-up” material (the view from the Belvedere, inkpen, creeper nightvision goggles, etc.) throughout.

Still Alice

~ Mark

Still Alice. Effective and depressing. Moore is awesome, but the movie isn’t very adventurous, and sometimes a little tedious. Unfortunately strays a bit into advertorial/advocacy/message territory. Which is fine, it’s a great cause, etc. But I think it would have been stronger if it had stuck with the family.

Haywire

~ Mark

Haywire. Second viewing (the first). Sometimes it could use a little spark, but I do appreciate it’s overall reserve and steady rumble. If I were in charge, I’d probably do some trimming at the end. Nice, though, to let the side characters like MacGregor and Douglas shine a bit.

Lucy

~ Mark

Lucy. Movie trailers can be deceiving. In this case, they sold it as a pretty yawner-looking action movie, but the story is delivered with more spirit and weirdness than you’d expect. There’s this really wonderful ongoing pattern of spliced-in nature footage as counterpoint to the story. A few moments are delightfully heightened (e.g. opening the briefcase), or thoughtfully disorienting (not translating other languages). Most of that is early on, though, and it unfortunately falls back on serviceable scifi/action pastiche, including plenty of Matrix-y philosophy talk. What really helps the early going is that Johansson is more fun to watch. It’s too bad that our hero basically turns into robot, loses affect. There’s an ongoing theme of conquering time via reproduction/evolution, and how knowledge transforms. Notice how they smuggle drugs in their stomach (womb). Also makes me think of study drugs, nootropics, etc. Also reminded me of Ted Chiang’s story Understand in his (really really good) collection Stories of Your Life. So maybe the overall problem here is that it was too good too soon, and once you’ve got the premise up and running, it’s hard to keep it weird. I’d place The Fifth Element ahead of this in my Luc Besson power rankings.

Batman Returns

~ Mark

Batman Returns. It had been a long time since I’d seen it. This Christmas tale also begins with a birth, but it’s so much more desperate and twisted than the traditional one. Too bad Catwoman is the only villain that stresses me out. Penguin is just kinda lame and pitiful. :( I like the staging and framing for many of the scenes. Like during Penguin PR speech, back at the mansion Alfred is decorating the Christmas tree while Bruce watches TV. (Speaking of, kinda funny how Batman learning about about rising threats through television seems so dated now.) And there’s some silly-exhilarating stuff, like when Kyle falls through layers of awnings. That scene at the masquerade (Superfreak!) is a masterpiece. Lovely to look at, and charmingly mental, but the story progression is too herky-jerky for my tastes, and not as fun as the 1989 for me.

The Babadook

~ Mark

The Babadook. I, uh, wasn’t too anxious to go to bed after watching this. If I were a child actor, I wouldn’t have survive it psychologically intact. Awesome movie, though, and like many horror flicks, has a lot of material ripe for interpretation. Some lovely foreshadowing – a children’s author, “Mom is very lucky to have you, isn’t she?”, hands on throats, etc. I like the editing, particularly the transitions from night to day, how they often use timelapse or a just a shift in lighting. It keeps the momentum up. Love the sound design (insectoid sound effects were an inspired choice) and those cool blue-grey palettes. Interesting to see TV and the movies as both comfort/entertainment (for the elderly neighbor) and a nudge over the edge. We could see the babadook as repressed memories/guilt/sadness/anger over the husband that fester and spoil as they – and she – are increasingly isolated from work, hobbies, family, community. The refuge where you flee becomes a trap. Eventually, we have to make some sort of peace with our inner torment. Acknowledge it just enough, with proper fear, no more, and move on as best we can, knowing we’ll need to tend to it again later. Another good movie about the fallout after a father’s death: A Letter to Momo.

American Sniper

~ Mark

American Sniper. Not as good as other Eastwood movies with similar thematic material. Broken heroes, the toll of duty and violence, and what it is to have a noble but misunderstood purpose, and so forth. Perhaps this and Selma share some common values? The fake babies are really distracting and completely baffling. Forewarning: there are parts of this movie that will be unbearable if you’re sensitive about violence against children. And if you aren’t… WTF? If I were choosing among 9/11 fallout movies, I’d rather watch Zero Dark Thirty again. Another movie with a great sandstorm climax is Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

Whiplash

~ Mark

Whiplash. Fixation and obsession. Somewhat promotes the myth of the tortured artist who must be pushed to self- and other-destructive extremes. If you’ve ever felt that sinking feeling when you become the focus of attention in band class, you can relate to this movie. Good momentum through most of it – take some of that Birdman-esque groove with more big band pop and sizzle. Love the way they did the cuts and shifts. Kind of criminal that they ignored half of the drumset, though. Seriously, all that wonderful energy and no footwork at all? It’s really too bad. Simmons is not jk in this movie. He’s awesome. A weakness is that Teller isn’t his equal. Still fun, though. Another movie that features a horrifying coach/mentor: Foxcatcher.

Inherent Vice

~ Mark

Inherent Vice. It’s a fun ride. I didn’t understand it completely while it was happening, but didn’t particularly care about that. Then again, I don’t feel interested in understanding, either. I’d be curious to see Paul Thomas Anderson go back to material that’s not so sprawling. I’m more likely re-watch any of his other movies before this one. Speaking of, I think I’d rank them…

  1. The Master
  2. Hard Eight
  3. There Will Be Blood
  4. Boogie Nights
  5. Magnolia
  6. Inherent Vice

…or something along those lines.

Selma

~ Mark

Selma. Amazing stuff. Mad respect for movies that take inherently interesting subjects, and then actually measure up. Not just summarizing the events, but giving them dramatic weight. Not just telling what their goal is, but something of their emotional life. (cough) One particularly refreshing thing in this movie: seeing religion treated as a source of solace and comfort. Another thing that struck me about both is the “period” look. Selma a bit sepia and has this constant lens distortion at the edge of the frame (you can see it in the still above). I saw The Imitation Game the day before, and noticed its own “historic” palette is desaturated, but with some hues just exploding, like they were manually re-tinted black-and-whites. In both cases the movies resemble some extant photographs from those times. Which is a bit odd. Like, the world itself wasn’t sepia or desaturated back then. Just got me thinking of whether that “period look” that helps transport us back in the storytelling could also over-distance us from the events and the people. Hems them in, keeps them at arms length, makes it easier to see and forget when we need to remember.

Blackhat

~ Mark

Blackhat. I really liked it, if my tweet binge is any indication. If you like Michael Mannerisms, you probably will, too. I like how the hacking here wasn’t just people tapping away at a keyboard, but also more general deceptive/intrusive behaviors like social engineering and burglary, and how technology is subverted for purposes good and bad. (Note how our hero goes into final battle with improvised body armor and weapons that reflect prison ingenuity.) I love that the big battle scenes have some geographical/tactical brains behind them, and the hand-to-hand fights are swiftly decided. It’s a movie willing to let its stars lounge in bed, or enjoy a nice view, and get you inside their head a bit. Filed under: Michael Mann

Big Hero 6

~ Mark

Big Hero 6. It’s good, at times genius, but it’s a mixed experience. I am most disappointed (ugh, so deeply disappointed) that the most fun gimmick in the movie – that there’s this lovable squooshy vinyl robot – is soon wrapped up in armor that disguises what makes him interesting. There are a few great gags that come out of his body and presence. Shame to waste opportunities for more. (I still don’t know anything about the comic books that this movie is working from, by the way. Not sure how it compares.) I also like the parts where the movie was self-consciously “filmed” in big-budget action movie sort of style. I suppose I should also admit that I fell asleep for a few minutes.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

~ Mark

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Eeehhhhhhhh. Too many of these people have too many skills, so it all feels overstuffed and much less tense than how I remember the Baldwin/Ford movies. I did enjoy seeing the covert meetings in barren movie theaters, emptied office buildings at night, and lonely forest roads. Some pretty solid Nokia product placement. If I see one more movie where a (heavy finger quotes) “trained assassin” doesn’t know his bullet count… One of my notes while watching this movie:

intense typing

When it comes to rebooted properties featuring Chris Pine, this one ranks behind the first and second Star Trek movies.

In a World…

~ Mark

In a World…. Loved it (again). It’s so nice to see a movie with such… complete characters. Driven, charming, obnoxious, lovable, self-defeating. All of it. And such a good momentum through the whole thing ‘til it smashes right through the glass ceiling. Very much recommended.