Sun, 18 Dec 2005
Aeon Flux
My memories of the original Aeon Flux are, perhaps appropriately, fragmentary. Back in the day I didn't get MTV and in the end I think I only saw two episodes all the way through. (Remember when MTV was interesting?) In any case, I remember liking what I saw, so I was looking forward to the film, although with some caution. After hearing a bit about it, I entered the theater expecting only disappointment.
The film itself is an unusual mix. It definitely has its bad points, which I feel compelled to enumerate. Some of the dialog is laughable. Stylistically it seems like it can't decide between a certain kind of Star Trekian futurism (people in subtly matching outfits walking easily through crowded outdoor markets), smooth concrete abstractionism (Flux's apartment, seemingly located in a scrubbed out sewer), something more baroque (the library, the Relical), or something hyper-realistic (close-ups lit to show skin texture, the unusual posters of the dictator).
Likewise it can't decide what kind of an action film it wants to be. The cutting is very choppy and the action scenes are consequently difficult to follow. At times the settings seem to indicate a more visually ambitious film is buried in the sub-liminal -- the locations chosen generally impressed me.
Despite its flaws this film did capture elements of the original. The world is mysterious, post-Picardian Kafka (nicely captured in the phrase "industrial virus"). The technology is alien and magical and as viewers we often do not know whether some gadget is taken for granted in this world where any object can have the function of any other, where form and function are completely divorced. Perhaps we are viewing ordinary things. Or perhaps Flux knows as little as we.
It brings to mind the Codex Seraphinianus, which in its own world is most likely a perfectly ordinary book, no more exotic than an issue of National Geographic.
The ending was a mild let-down, as were the moments when the film devolved to mere action and the typical tropes of the genre.
I enjoyed this film quite a bit more than I expected to. In an artistic sense I found it inspiring, similar to the way that reading a story by Delany invariably makes me want to write.
posted at: 16:52 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Wed, 07 Sep 2005
Transporter 2
Sequels seem to have a real problem with plot continuity. Maybe the creators get distracted by trying to be systematically more flashy than the original, and forget entirely about things like plot, sequential action, and the like. Transporter 2 succumbs not only to this problem, but to the "greasy evil" problem; that is the one where it seems like a good idea to identify all the bad guys by covering them in a fine film of vaseline.
I enjoyed the first Transporter enough to rent it one day and see it a second time (though, I feel it wouldn't stand up to a third viewing). This one... I'm sorry I saw it at all.
posted at: 12:34 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Wed, 27 Jul 2005
The Last Shot
A cute and sometimes funny film based on a true story about the FBI making a movie as a sting operation. They kind of tacked a Hollywood ending on it though.
The Wedding CrashersI love Vince Vaughn and his crazed raconteur style of humor. Also I have an unfortunate affinity for goofy, slapstick movies. This movie didn't disappoint on either count.
Fun fact: this movie inspired a Colorado representative to introduce a bill making it a crime to falsely claim to have won a purple heart. Colorado lawmakers are a really bad bunch; in fact I've noticed before that most of the "national" news coming out of Colorado is typically demented or sadistic.
The Bad News BearsEven though they left out the controversial line about smoking pot, there is plenty left in there to offend. I saw the original a long time ago, I don't remember it being quite this outrageous. I enjoyed it, though the one joke gets fairly old after a while.
posted at: 15:36 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Sun, 10 Jul 2005
Fantastic Four
Marvel never had the best comics, and this translates pretty well to film. Or, in other words, this movie was pretty bad. Avoid.
UpcomingAt the theater I saw a poster for V for Vendetta. This is one of the few graphic novels I own, and I've always hoped they would turn it into a movie. I hope it lives up to my expectations.
posted at: 18:17 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Fri, 08 Jul 2005
Batman Begins
Although parts of this movie were goofy -- such as the glaring logical inconsistencies in the villain's reasoning, or Bruce Wayne pointlessly hammering boards over the well behind his burnt out mansion -- I still thought it was the best of the Batman movies. I enjoyed the atmosphere of this film, which was spookier than the others. Also I liked the casting choices.
posted at: 22:50 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Fri, 29 Apr 2005
The Interpreter
I like these action movies with slow-moving parts. This one had a couple of flaws.. Sean Penn seemed a little flat in some ways. There was also a section I thought was poorly edited, and in fact at first I thought they must have put in the wrong reel. That was the low point, and thankfully it occurred fairly early in the film. By the end the movie had progressed from the general and unknown to the specific, and managed to move me. This is not just a personal movie, as the parallels to situation in the Sudan are immediate and relevant. I recommend it.
posted at: 11:32 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Mon, 25 Apr 2005
Kung Fu Hustle
A long, long time ago I read an album review in Trouser Press or something like that which said, "listening to this album is like riding a shovel into a giant mound of whipped cream". What always struck me about this is its ambiguity, and I still think about this review whenever I review an album or movie for a friend.
However, this is irrelevant to a review of Kung Fu Hustle, which needs no ambiguity. This is a quirky and interesting movie, and I enjoyed every second of it. One oddity is the similarity, to my mind, between the Beast and the disturbingly happy killer in Sin City; when leaving the theater I overhead someone else make a connection to Sin City, but other than this detail I didn't really see it. For one thing, KFH is fun to watch.
Strangely, I saw this movie (with a complete unintelligible blurb on the back) on the shelf in Video Station last night. Perhaps we're just seeing a much-delayed US theatrical release?
posted at: 15:37 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Tue, 05 Apr 2005
La Dolce Vita
It is time for The Conference on World Affairs again, so Roger Ebert is in town doing cinema interruptus. I never go to the interruptus parts, since I tire easily of hearing the same people spout uninteresting comments. But, I try to always get to the uninterrupted showing; Ebert says some funny and interesting things and then we get to see a (usually) interesting film. (Last year was Floating Weeds, and I've regretted several times that I missed it, so this year I made a special effort.)
I hadn't seen La Dolce Vita in a number of years. It is still as interesting and bizarre as I found it the first time. A bit on the long side, if one is allowed to say that about a classic.
As with the last time, I took the movie quite personally, juxtaposing my own existential crisis with Marcello's. Neither Marcello nor, seemingly, anyone he meets is able to resolve their crisis and find a reason to live. So, they all die, one way or another, even the big fish who "insists on looking". The young girl at the end shouts to him but he is unable to hear, and turns back to finish his own destruction.
Leaving the auditorium we walked into the darkening evening and the start of rain. The colors were quite vivid and a surprising number of moviegoers followed us down the hill on 17th Street. Talking about the movie in the midst of a small crowd seemed to prolong the strange atmosphere left by the movie itself, and I started to wonder whether my solution to my existential questions was not merely an illusion I constructed, and whether, perhaps, the meaninglessness and absurdity of life might not, at any moment, crush me flat.
Somehow I made it home alive.
posted at: 15:40 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Sat, 02 Apr 2005
Sin City
A disturbing mix of violence and sex. Some call it nihilistic, but I wouldn't go that far... instead it merely demonstrates the idea that no good deed goes unpunished. Graphically interesting, though for completely-made-up movies I much preferred the visuals in Sky Captain.
posted at: 17:45 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Fri, 21 Jan 2005
God of Cookery
Kurth told me about this movie about ten years ago, but I forgot all about it until I happened to see the box on the counter at Video Station a couple of weeks ago. Even then I had to wait since, apparently, it is checked out frequently.
This movie -- a kind of riches-to-rags-to-riches story about a food critic slash chef -- is every bit as great as K said it was all those years ago. It is stunningly random, as if, at every juncture while filming, the director considered the strangest next possible direction to take. It really hit my funny bone, I recommend it.
posted at: 12:04 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Sun, 02 Jan 2005
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
I liked this movie in the end. Anderson usually makes interesting sets, and this movie was no exception. Also there were nice little "magical realism" tidbits put in here and there. This was really much, much better than The Royal Tenenbaums (which I hated). Bill Murray, who is probably everybody's favorite actor by now (I've been a fan since The Razor's Edge), was as good as usual. Cate Blanchett was good, and Willem Dafoe stood out for me. Many of Anderson's movies fail to engage me... his style doesn't usually leave me empathizing with the characters very much. This movie was different, kind of surprise. I recommend it.
posted at: 01:11 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Meet the Fockers
Not as funny as Meet the Parents, but still only moderately disappointing. Due to the usual marketing thing, Zoolander was on TV recently. It seemed funnier the second time and sort of primed me for Fockers. In a way I suppose it makes sense to go watch sequels just so you can occasionally be surprised by a good one. Thin rationale, that.
posted at: 01:04 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Fri, 17 Dec 2004
Ocean's 12
First, what's up with the remake fever Hollywood seems to have caught? They've remade everything except Zardoz and My Dinner With Andre.
Ocean's 12 was ok, though in place of old-style slick and cool they decided to substitute dialog that ends mid-sentence. That's not great... and then the zooming around in time didn't work so well and the plot wasn't nearly as engaging as in 11. All in all, a disappointment. Prediction: no number 13.
posted at: 15:37 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Tue, 14 Dec 2004
Zatoichi
I must be the last person around to see this movie, because whenever I tell people about it they just nod and agree that it was really great. Plot-wise it is pretty basic, about a blind samurai who is reminiscent of characters Eastwood played in spaghetti westerns. It is a little gory, but the blood seemed to be computer generated and was slightly off, color-wise, so I didn't have to close my eyes or anything. There are some nice twists, the film itself is beautiful, and there are a couple of short "poetic" moments that reminded me of the final scene (which I love) in The Seven Samurai.
posted at: 15:28 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Tue, 09 Nov 2004
The Incredibles
Lives up to its name. I loved it.
posted at: 18:19 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Mon, 11 Oct 2004
The Control Room
An interesting documentary about the Al Jazeera network. Trenchant yet, for my taste, a bit jumpy. The political observations in it have circulated on the US left for quite a while, so it wasn't surprising, but nevertheless it managed to be moving. Squeamish as I am, I had to close my eyes a couple of times. The personal observations were quite well done, reminiscent in a small way of The Sorrow and the Pity.
posted at: 00:09 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Sat, 18 Sep 2004
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
I suppose the comparisons to Buck Rogers (look for the comic cameo in the movie) or perhaps Metropolis are inevitable, but for me the immediate comparison was to Careful or Twilight of the Ice Nymphs, solely due, I suppose, to the soft and fuzzy filtering. In any case, this is a movie that starts strong, with a nice visual style and old-style hooks. And, while the second half contains some wonderful visuals, plot-wise it degenerates in a more or less standard action flick. Worth seeing.
posted at: 13:47 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Fri, 17 Sep 2004
Scooby Doo 2
I liked the first Scooby Doo, so I rented this a couple nights ago. This is a complete stoner movie, but I found it pretty funny un-stoned. It even has a nice line about its own A-Team Sequence from Shaggy: "they're having a whole montage in there without us".
posted at: 12:14 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Wed, 28 Jul 2004
The A-Team Sequence
Every episode of the A-Team had a sequence where the team would spend their time welding, examining sheet metal and rolling 55 gallon drums around. This scene was filler to work around the general lack of content to the plot. This technique extends well past the A-Team, though, and it isn't hard to find A-Team sequences in many TV shows and films once you know what you are looking for. It is a hallmark of a certain style of bad movie.
posted at: 22:52 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Fri, 11 Jun 2004
Harry Potter 3
I liked this one the best of all three. I thought the visual style was more beautiful and evocative -- I wish I had seen this movie as a kid. Also it was more suspenseful than the first two installments. It still isn't as good as the books, unfortunately, but it is worth seeing.
posted at: 10:05 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Tue, 25 May 2004
Shrek 2
Shrek 2 was about what I expected -- funny but not hilarious, nice graphics, simple storyline, and some clever subtle jokes. I enjoyed it quite a bit, I recommend it. Elyn like it better than the original, mostly due to less hype, I think.
posted at: 13:05 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Sat, 08 May 2004
Van Helsing
At long last, a movie where the climactic scene is literally dog versus vampire. Who writes this stuff?
posted at: 18:39 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Fri, 16 Apr 2004
interMission
This was billed as a comedy, but in the end I laughed honestly only at one point in the movie -- the bit with the brown sauce. But otherwise, when I laughed, I was laughing at the movie, or at the incredible stupidity of its characters. I really disliked it, on the order of Va Savoir or one of those other movies that some folks like and rave about, but which I just find bafflingly boring.
posted at: 12:44 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Tue, 06 Apr 2004
The Rules of the Game
This played yesterday at the Conference on World Affairs. Roger Ebert introduces these showings and always gives a nice talk, so I try to make it every year. This year I missed most of his talk, but I stayed for the movie since I heard enough to intrigue me and since I'd never seen a Renoir film.
This film is widely acclaimed as one of the greats of all time, perhaps second only to Citizen Kane; in fact it pioneered a technique or two that showed up later in Kane. I think it takes a certain skill to watch a movie like this, in that you have to be able to throw yourself back into the time, to understand the state of the art of moviemaking as it was then, in order to realize the ground broken by the film.
I'm not always able to do that, and yesterday I definitely wasn't, what with the various distractions of life (i.e., why I was late). Still, even without the special effort I could see why people praise this movie. The hunting scene was particularly powerful (I closed my eyes for parts), and then the way it was echoed later, showing the various characters to be not only carefree, but careless, was a sort of grim delight.
Lives out of balance, oblivious to what awaits them in the coming years.
posted at: 23:53 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
The Lady Killers
I really enjoyed this movie. First, a few times during the movie I forgot that Tom Hanks was playing the main character, which is quite a feat for a big name actor. Second, I liked his character. I'm a sucker for a purple phrase, I suppose. I saw the rest of the day through a more verbose and convoluted lens.
posted at: 23:46 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Mon, 05 Apr 2004
Something's Got to Give
We watched this on DVD this weekend. I found it nearly unbearable at parts, and about an hour too long. Diane Keaton is pretty good, I like the way she moves on screen. But otherwise I found it incomprehensible. First, why would anyone want to date Jack Nicholson? Second, there were scenes where I literally couldn't figure out what the characters were talking about. There's a scene where Keaton is trying to get a taxi where the whole conversation doesn't make any sense at all.
posted at: 11:36 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Wed, 24 Mar 2004
Triplets of Belleville
It was very strange to see this in a theater, since it isn't the sort of movie I would expect to get a wide theatrical release. Anyway, it is a fun and quirky adventure comic. I enjoyed it quite a bit, especially the horsey noises made by the bikers.
posted at: 13:48 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Mon, 15 Mar 2004
Swimming Pool
This was an interesting movie, enjoyable, but not what I was expecting. I was expecting something darker, I'm glad it didn't live up to the reports I had heard. On the other hand I was also expecting something a little more engaging as well. It does have its moments, though, and I found it pretty funny in a couple of places. The ending didn't make me angry in the way that movies that end this way typically do, so that's success of a sort.
posted at: 10:25 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Spartan
With David Mamet you certainly know what you're getting: usually a well-crafted story with interesting but weirdly-delivered dialog and several plot twists. Spartan doesn't disappoint.
In the movie, Val Kilmer plays a Marine, the sort of guy who is single-mindedly focused on his mission. He explains that he is a shooter, that he isn't a thinker and never wanted to be. Then of course he is forced into an existential crisis where he can no longer abdicate his privilege to choose.
This is the sort of thing authors must write into movies. I see it in allegorical terms, you need to take some shortcuts with reality both to provide action and to fit your film into the allotted two hours.
posted at: 10:18 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Sun, 07 Mar 2004
Club Dread
I really loved Super Troopers. I suppose I should be embarrassed by this, but the fact is that I thought it was hilarious and it has retained its hilarity for me over time. I still laugh out loud watching it. So, I was eager to see Club Dread, another movie by the same guys.
It was funny enough, and I did laugh out loud from time to time, but unfortunately it didn't live up to the standard of the previous movie. I enjoyed it but I doubt I'll be seeing it a second time.
posted at: 15:50 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Wed, 21 Jan 2004
Big Fish
For me this movie was a sentimental and emotional experience, touching on the themes of the meaning of life, friendship, courage, communication, etc. The various whimsical fantasy scenes were the best part overall. In the end this was missing a little something, hard to say what. I probably won't watch it again. Still, I recommend it.
posted at: 13:24 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Wed, 07 Jan 2004
Elephant
I had heard from a friend that this was good. I didn't know quite enough about it or I would have refused to go, I think. Gus Van Sant stays relentlessly on the surface of things, providing us with an essentially insight-free depiction of Columbine. Thanks, but my imagination had already filled in all those details. I'd prefer a deeper work. My first reaction to this movie was anger, I was tempted to review it with the single word "exploitive".
posted at: 17:20 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Paycheck
About what I expected. The only other person in the theater expressed his disappointment to me, but I think his expectations were set too high. It's hard to believe much will come from a Ben Affleck action movie based on one of Philip K. Dick's second-rate stories.
posted at: 17:18 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Mon, 05 Jan 2004
Return of the King
This movie was everything I had expected of it. Though of course I would have seen it even if it had gotten bad reviews, seeing as I'd already committed to the first two in the series. Let's hope the same team makes The Hobbit, as has been rumored.
At various times, though, I had to avert my eyes. Something I discovered while watching Independence Day is that it's hard for me to watch massacres on-screen. This movie was no different, and even the stylized and obviously-computerized battle scenes were too much for my temperament.
Also disturbing was the efficacy of the pre-battle motivational talks given by various kings and heros. Sometimes it seems we're all just a rousing speech away from mass destruction. Perhaps I was just in a susceptible mood that day.
posted at: 16:02 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Fri, 12 Dec 2003
Lost in Translation
Parts of this movie overstayed their welcome. Generally, though, it was a nice exposition of a certain kind of despair, the kind that ordinarily visits me in hotel rooms and at the holidays. In a sense this is the perfect Christmas movie.
It doesn't really deserve the big reviews I've seen, though. After a while I get tired of despair. And unfortunately while the movies understand fun, they have a difficult time with joy.
posted at: 17:12 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Thu, 23 Oct 2003
Runaway Jury
I love John Cusack; I had fun watching his friendly face onscreen. Unfortunately, this movie failed to deliver on its promises. I was expecting a thriller, and though it had the requisite plot twists and turns, it never managed to nudge me to the edge of my seat. Also, there were one or two irritating loose ends -- for instance, what happened with the MP3 player?
posted at: 09:05 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Wed, 15 Oct 2003
Kill Bill
I watched this the other day. At times it looks like Tarantino is making an homage to some set of movies I've never seen. At other times it appears that he's trying to make a new kind of epic. For instance, there's a kind of ironic counterpoint to the sanitized violence we see in most action flicks; instead Tarantino goes for maximum gore and mutilation. It's got his trademark sense of humor in it (I'm thinking of Uma's car), and there's a long anime sequence in the middle that is a sort of interesting digression from more normal movies.
So, he's trying. But I found the dialog severely annoying, the violence disturbing -- I'm squeamish and covered my eyes for a good part of the movie -- and at times it seemed like this movie wanted to be Ghost Dog but couldn't quite take itself seriously enough.
In the end I wasn't that impressed. I suppose I'll see the second one, just to find out what happens. But I won't be seeing the first one again.
posted at: 13:14 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Sat, 02 Aug 2003
Tomb Raider II
In a movie where the two protagonists are both sociopaths, how do you know which one to root for?
posted at: 16:20 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Thu, 31 Jul 2003
Pirates of the Caribbean
This was really quite lousy, though I enjoyed Johnny Depp as always, except for the annoying way he spoke from time to time. I saw a preview and Disney is making another movie based on a theme park ride, this time The Haunted Mansion. Sigh.
posted at: 13:17 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
Sat, 19 Jul 2003
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Watching this was interesting, at least provided I was thinking about not what I was watching on the screen but instead something vaguely connected to it.
The heroes of the 19th century seem so very dated now. For instance, Nemo, master of the technology of the time, striving to create a "better" world while operating under the fantasy that technology is the important differentiating factor -- never reflecting on, say, his own authoritarian attitude.
I also wondered why a team of individuals, many of whom are immortal, would bother with this expedition. I suppose it is unfair to expect a movie like this to try to accurately reflect the attitudes that one might suppose an actual immortal might take.
If you actually pay attention to the film itself, though... well, it was what I expected, but that wasn't much. But at least there wasn't an invisible car.
posted at: 15:22 | path: /movies | permanent link to this entry
