So, I've been watching a lot of movies of late...
Reg
location: back to the wilderness
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registered: 1999.11.22
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Some of them I wanted to see, others because other people wanted to see them, and some just to get an idea what is going on at the movies these days. I do love movies but I get frustrated watching a lot of them and most of the stuff I really like was made prior to 1980. I was thinking maybe part of that was nostalgia but upon further review (and watching several films from this decade) I have decided not very much if any of my love for older films is due to nostalgia. I'm waiting for my Sergio Leone Westerns box set to arrive in the mail and really if you don't love Sergio you don't love movies. I won't get into a deep film discussion unless that's where some of you guys and gals want to go but suffice to say there just are no layers to 97% of todays films. Everything is on the surface and there is no desire to try for something better, bigger, deeper. God forbid you leave anything open for the audience to interpret and damn it, that to me is a big part of what makes a film a great personal experience because you get to insert yourself into it and you take it with you when you leave. Anyway here are some thoughts on the stuff I've been watching:Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End - I liked this and it was my favorite of the three films I think. I loved the "Being John Malkovich" angle on what has happened to Captain Jack Sparrow. The section where we first see where he is and what's happening with him was my favorite part of the whole series of films. I thought it was wonderfully creative and beautifully realized. I have to say for a series of films based on a ride in a theme park the team that made these took it further than I think anybody could have guessed they would have. I think the final film was the most interesting and creative. Sure they blow stuff up and it's noisy and there are special effects to create a wow factor...but nothing beats multiple Depps in a surrealist Davy Jones Locker. Stranger Than Fiction - This film is basically a dud but it's got a few good things in it. The top of the list, as far as I'm concerned, is Maggie Gyllenhaal. It's not that I think she's hot or something like that, it's that she takes what is basically a nothing part and creates a whole person. I was stunned by what a natural talent she is. I'm going to have to watch some other stuff with her in it but she seems like she may be one of the best new actors we've got. She's not drop dead beautiful, in fact she's pretty average looking but damn it...you just can't see her acting and I mean that as the highest compliment. She makes the other women in the film look like they are just mugging for the camera...and pretty much that was one of the big issues I had with this. Emma Thompson (who can be good) and Queen Latifah are annoying as all hell. Plus this film is shot like and feels like a tv sitcom which is a problem with a lot of films these days. If you missed this, I'd have to say don't bother...Maggie is the best thing in it and she only has a small part. I'm going to check out Secretary and Sherry Baby because I hear she's central to these films. Man of the Year - Ok...nothing good to say bout this one. My advice is to avoid this at all costs. I don't know how you put Robin Williams and Chris Walken in a film and make it suck this bad. Barry Levinson directed this and I guess he wrote it too...on both counts it blows big time! The script is just awful and again we're in tv sitcom land...DO NOT SEE THIS HEAP OF DUNG! I sat all the way through it and wanted to smash my tv at the end for wasting nearly two hours of my life on this. The Good German - Ok, this was one I wanted to see. It turned out to be a letdown but at least an interesting and worthwhile one. This film is a tribute to films like The Third Man and if you like that kind of film you should watch this. It's nowhere near as good as The Third Man and Tobey Maguire should not have been in it but I enjoyed watching it. Pretty much there's a bit too much tribute going on here and not enough focus on the story at hand but it was fun. This is basically a film for film geeks or fans of films like The Third Man. On that level I liked it.
–--
'The only way to avoid getting crushed by absurdity, is to humbly include the absurd in our calculations.'
'The only way to avoid getting crushed by absurdity, is to humbly include the absurd in our calculations.'
Reg
(view)
Some of them I wanted to see, others because other people wanted to see them, and some just to get an idea what is going on at the movies these days. I do love movies but I get frustrated watching a lot of them and most of the stuff I really like was made prior to 1980. I was thinking maybe part of that was nostalgia but upon further review (and watching several films from this decade) I have decided not very much if any of my love for older films is due to nostalgia. I'm waiting for my Sergio Leone Westerns box set to arrive in the mail and really if you don't love Sergio you don't love movies. I won't get into a deep film discussion unless that's where some of you guys and gals want to go but suffice to say there just are no layers to 97% of todays films. Everything is on the surface and there is no desire to try for something better, bigger, deeper. God forbid you leave anything open for the audience to interpret and damn it, that to me is a big part of what makes a film a great personal experience because you get to insert yourself into it and you take it with you when you leave. Anyway here are some thoughts on the stuff I've been watching:Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End - I liked this and it was my favorite of the three films I think. I loved the "Being John Malkovich" angle on what has happened to Captain Jack Sparrow. The section where we first see where he is and what's happening with him was my favorite part of the whole series of films. I thought it was wonderfully creative and beautifully realized. I have to say for a series of films based on a ride in a theme park the team that made these took it further than I think anybody could have guessed they would have. I think the final film was the most interesting and creative. Sure they blow stuff up and it's noisy and there are special effects to create a wow factor...but nothing beats multiple Depps in a surrealist Davy Jones Locker. Stranger Than Fiction - This film is basically a dud but it's got a few good things in it. The top of the list, as far as I'm concerned, is Maggie Gyllenhaal. It's not that I think she's hot or something like that, it's that she takes what is basically a nothing part and creates a whole person. I was stunned by what a natural talent she is. I'm going to have to watch some other stuff with her in it but she seems like she may be one of the best new actors we've got. She's not drop dead beautiful, in fact she's pretty average looking but damn it...you just can't see her acting and I mean that as the highest compliment. She makes the other women in the film look like they are just mugging for the camera...and pretty much that was one of the big issues I had with this. Emma Thompson (who can be good) and Queen Latifah are annoying as all hell. Plus this film is shot like and feels like a tv sitcom which is a problem with a lot of films these days. If you missed this, I'd have to say don't bother...Maggie is the best thing in it and she only has a small part. I'm going to check out Secretary and Sherry Baby because I hear she's central to these films. Man of the Year - Ok...nothing good to say bout this one. My advice is to avoid this at all costs. I don't know how you put Robin Williams and Chris Walken in a film and make it suck this bad. Barry Levinson directed this and I guess he wrote it too...on both counts it blows big time! The script is just awful and again we're in tv sitcom land...DO NOT SEE THIS HEAP OF DUNG! I sat all the way through it and wanted to smash my tv at the end for wasting nearly two hours of my life on this. The Good German - Ok, this was one I wanted to see. It turned out to be a letdown but at least an interesting and worthwhile one. This film is a tribute to films like The Third Man and if you like that kind of film you should watch this. It's nowhere near as good as The Third Man and Tobey Maguire should not have been in it but I enjoyed watching it. Pretty much there's a bit too much tribute going on here and not enough focus on the story at hand but it was fun. This is basically a film for film geeks or fans of films like The Third Man. On that level I liked it.
–--
'The only way to avoid getting crushed by absurdity, is to humbly include the absurd in our calculations.'
'The only way to avoid getting crushed by absurdity, is to humbly include the absurd in our calculations.'
