Tag: movies

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.

From ‘American Sniper’ to ‘Macbeth,’ a Reporter’s Moviegoing Spree – NYTimes.com

~ Mark

I love this essay about a two-day bender at the movie theaters.

Henry Higgins has a song in “My Fair Lady” in which he talks about how even-keeled his life was before Eliza Doolittle came along and messed it up. That is true at the movies, too. Alone, you can respond any way you want; the only negotiation is between you and the screen. Let another person in, and everything changes. My friend was gracious, but I could tell that he wished the seats were farther back and that he was repelled by what he perceived to be the unpleasant jingoism cascading around the theater. I felt responsible, because the movie had been my idea.

That was a bummer. I began to believe that maybe art is better experienced alone, which is not a healthy belief.

And this too:

The movie was “Night at the Museum 3: Secret of the Tomb,” and it was pretty bad. It was a perfect thing to see alone, because I really liked it and would not have wanted to explain myself to anyone.

From ‘American Sniper’ to ‘Macbeth,’ a Reporter’s Moviegoing Spree – NYTimes.com

Codes, chaos, and the world of Heat / The Dissolve

~ Mark

Neil and Vincent are orderly men, and Mann harmonizes their activities beautifully, but being human isn’t an orderly business. Opening up to other people means opening up to chaos and disorder.

And from the later forum discussion of Heat:

It struck me that, for all the ways Heat questions the macho code of non-attachment that McCauley and Hanna live by, it has a very old-fashioned view of the uses of violence. Both McCauley and Hanna deploy it very precisely. What’s wrong with Waingro is that he can’t control himself.

Codes, chaos, and the world of Heat / The Dissolve

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.

When once isn’t enough

~ Mark

To me, the threshold for repeat viewings is this: The first viewing must beckon you back for a second. It’s not enough to feel like you’d missed something the first time […] but you have to like the film and feel compelled to return, like an itch that needs scratching.

When once isn’t enough

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.

Hard Eight

~ Mark

Hard Eight. Philip Baker Hall is awesome, and so is John C. Reilly. Love how Reilly becomes a poor imitation of the expert. I love the moments of still life, coffee and pie and cigarettes and such. I felt a bit let down by the reveal. I guess you’d have to steer the climax a bit differently without it, but I didn’t really need a reason for how the story opened. I was totally on board with this strange characters. I think The Master is my favorite of Paul Thomas Anderson’s, then probably this one and then There Will Be Blood and then Magnolia? Hard to say. They’re all pretty solid.

All Is Lost

~ Mark

All Is Lost. Loved it. Perfect movie for the messy, rainy weather of late. Redford’s sailboat is hit by a freight container… and then he deals with it. Minimal script and music, the focus is on inventiveness, improvising, and the mundane aspects of making do. I appreciate that there weren’t any gimmicks that felt too dumb or contrived, like, I dunno, getting tangled in the ropes or something. It’s also a great example of how much more thrilling it can be to focus on the person facing peril, and how they react, rather than show a huge CGI wave vs. a tiny boat. I love the couple moments where he’s… enjoying himself, somehow? A sunset. A simple dinner. And there’s a beautiful, heartbreaking moment before he sends out a communication where he pauses – not quite ready – and then follows through.

Other good “peril at sea” movies: Captain Phillips and Life of Pi.

Other good survival films: Gravity (+ Aningaaq). The Grey. 127 Hours.

Another good movie focusing on one actor, one vehicle: Locke.

Another good movie with an older actor trying to get out of trouble: Arbitrage.

Veronica Mars

~ Mark

If I were wise enough to know the difference between what I can and can’t change, would I even be who I am?

Veronica Mars. It opens with an explanatory montage narrated by Bell – it’s a nice introduction for newbies and also helps boost the anticipation/nostalgia for veterans. Even with that lead-in, though, I don’t think you could get much out of the movie without watching a good bit of the TV series (which you should absolutely, definitely do as soon as possible).

Lots of inside jokes, references, running gags, cameos, and other bits of fan service. There were a pair of legitimately shocking moments in there, too. The great writing that sustained the show carries over here, and the key relationships – Veronica and her dad; Veronica and Logan – are as sharp as ever. Love the Lou Rawls soundtrack during one of the climactic scenes.

But alas, it’s not the TV show, and two hours simply is not enough for a challenge worthy of Veronica, and there’s not enough time for beloved supporting characters to remind us why we love them so much. Another great movie that revolves around noir-ish high school drama is Brick.