Seen at: AMC Promenade in Westminster, Colo., at 1:50 p.m. on Dec. 26.
For Christmas this year, I drove down to my sister's place in Westminster, where the whole family got together, including my parents and my sister Anne and her family as well. It was magnificently fun time, to have the family all together.
The last time I'd been down, I promised my sister's daughters that I would see The Princess and the Frog with them. The Christmas visit seemed like the perfect opportunity, so I stayed over an extra night, and the next afternoon we drove to the AMC Promenade, the beautiful giant multiplex in the lifestyle center a couple miles from their house. The place was swarming with post-Christmas movie goers. You really can't doubt that moviegoing is alive and well in America.
I was really looking forward to this movie, because I wanted to see what Disney could still do with hand-drawn animation. I wasn't disappointed at all. This really was a nice piece of old school film making.
The story was well crafted. One could criticize it for following the same Disney type of storyline, in terms of Disney ripping off it's own work. For example, there is a musical number that seems to be nearly the same as Jungle Book's "I Want to Be a Man Cub," and another that one could sing "Hakuna Matata" as alternate lyrics.
If you're looking for something ground-breaking and "completely new" this is not the movie for you. But if you want to see Disney doing the old Disney thing, and having a fresh take on the organic feel of hand-drawn animation, then this is very non-disappointing.
And the four-year-old girls on both sides of me really liked it too. Does it need any more endorsement than that?
Verdict: not mindblowing, but warm and yummy in an old-school kind of way.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Brothers
Seen at: Cinemark 16 in Fort Collins, at 9:50 p.m on Dec. 24.
Like I said, Christmas is brutal on movie watching because some releases which might otherwise play a long time in the theaters get flushed out very quickly. There simply isn't enough auditorium space.
One of the losers of the multiplex sweepstakes was Brothers, by a Danish filmmaker remaking his own movie about the Afghanistan War. I scurried over to the Cinemark to see it on the very last showing on Christmas Eve, before it left.
For much of the film, I couldn't help thinking what a shame it was, that this movie was not playing longer. Although much of the story is based on the absurd and distorted premise of Afghan "terrorists" torturing a U.S. GI (something that has never happened in 8 years of the war, and which seems like a stereotype taken from the Rambo movies), it nevertheless mostly works on a human level. Just a reminder: torturing is generally our thing, not theirs.
Actually most of story---and the core essential drama---takes place on the "home front" in the form of a burgeoning love story between the soldier's brother and his wife. Both Jake Gyllenhall and Natalie Portman were superb here, and I was captivating by the subtlety and complexity of their interaction. At the two-thirds mark, I was thinking, "what a shame that this movie is not getting the screen time it deserves."
Well, as I often do, I spoke way too soon. Recall how I said this is a remake of a Danish film, by the original auteur. Like so many European films, it eschews any narrative tension that might actually force to us to feel sharp emotions over the characters. Although it builds up a very good premise for dramatic tension, in the end, it chooses to wind down the story in one of the least satisfying ways possible, giving us no resolution to the essential drama of the love story between the soldier's brother and his wife. That's right, no resolution at all.
I nearly booed and hissed at the screen at the end. It was a huge cop-out way to end the movie. It was a great big let-down, and made me understand why people haven't been going to see this movie. If you want a war drama about the home front, try The Hurt Locker. I think it's going to win Best Picture.
Too bad about this movie. The acting was indeed very good. Natalie Portman was impressive. She's really maturing into a decent actress, leaving her teenage years behind. One day I could see her having the gravitas to play something as complex as, say, a galactic senator. Just sayin'.
Verdict: a waste of a good premise and good actors, and confirmation of the deficiencies of much of Euro-cinema.
Like I said, Christmas is brutal on movie watching because some releases which might otherwise play a long time in the theaters get flushed out very quickly. There simply isn't enough auditorium space.
One of the losers of the multiplex sweepstakes was Brothers, by a Danish filmmaker remaking his own movie about the Afghanistan War. I scurried over to the Cinemark to see it on the very last showing on Christmas Eve, before it left.
For much of the film, I couldn't help thinking what a shame it was, that this movie was not playing longer. Although much of the story is based on the absurd and distorted premise of Afghan "terrorists" torturing a U.S. GI (something that has never happened in 8 years of the war, and which seems like a stereotype taken from the Rambo movies), it nevertheless mostly works on a human level. Just a reminder: torturing is generally our thing, not theirs.
Actually most of story---and the core essential drama---takes place on the "home front" in the form of a burgeoning love story between the soldier's brother and his wife. Both Jake Gyllenhall and Natalie Portman were superb here, and I was captivating by the subtlety and complexity of their interaction. At the two-thirds mark, I was thinking, "what a shame that this movie is not getting the screen time it deserves."
Well, as I often do, I spoke way too soon. Recall how I said this is a remake of a Danish film, by the original auteur. Like so many European films, it eschews any narrative tension that might actually force to us to feel sharp emotions over the characters. Although it builds up a very good premise for dramatic tension, in the end, it chooses to wind down the story in one of the least satisfying ways possible, giving us no resolution to the essential drama of the love story between the soldier's brother and his wife. That's right, no resolution at all.
I nearly booed and hissed at the screen at the end. It was a huge cop-out way to end the movie. It was a great big let-down, and made me understand why people haven't been going to see this movie. If you want a war drama about the home front, try The Hurt Locker. I think it's going to win Best Picture.
Too bad about this movie. The acting was indeed very good. Natalie Portman was impressive. She's really maturing into a decent actress, leaving her teenage years behind. One day I could see her having the gravitas to play something as complex as, say, a galactic senator. Just sayin'.
Verdict: a waste of a good premise and good actors, and confirmation of the deficiencies of much of Euro-cinema.
Armored
Seen at: Cinemark Greeley Mall 16, at 2:45 p.m. on Dec. 23.
You can usually tell a movie is going to be bad when its release gets delayed. Armored was supposed to come out in October, but got bumped to the early December pre-Christmas slot, which is where movies go to die. Thus it got swiftly bumped out of the theaters by the Christmas onslaught, and after two weeks of it being out, I was forced to drive over to Greeley to see it. As it happened, the only day I could make it was right after a big snowstorm that shellacked the highways with ice. I've never made such an effort to see a movie. As I sat in the theater waiting for it to start, I couldn't help dreading the impeding experience.
Turns out I was completely wrong in my expectations, as I often am. Although I thought I was gong to see a dreadful, formulaic heist-gone-wrong movie (about the inside-job robbery of an armored car), the story felt fresh and enlivened by interesting characters. I knew from the opening scenes, that set up the two main characters, that I was going to like, Matt Dillon, in particular, was superb as the bad guy, whose entire character is established in the opening shot of him looking in the mirror, and not liking what he is seeing.
The story---which was reminiscent of some of the work of Sidney Lumet---just flew by. There was just the right amount of action and violence to make it work, without going overboard. The casting was also particularly good.
There was, however, one thing that really bothered me about this movie. It was released by Sony Screen Gems. As in the case of Untraceable (2008) and this fall's Stepfather, both of them released through Sony Screen Gems as well, one of the main themes of the story is how evil people in our society can exploit holes in the electronic control grid. Armored has the lightest version of this particular theme, but it is still nevertheless present (basically it is that universal GPS tracking would solve everything).
The common but subtle message of these Sony movies seems to be: "Big Brother is good, but it needs to get even bigger in order to make us safe." With the release of Armored, the pattern is clear. Sony Screen Gems seems to like making these kinds of scripts, for whatever reason. I'm definitely keeping my eyes out for this in the future.
Verdict: a superb underated thriller-drama marred by an injection of totalitarian propaganda.
You can usually tell a movie is going to be bad when its release gets delayed. Armored was supposed to come out in October, but got bumped to the early December pre-Christmas slot, which is where movies go to die. Thus it got swiftly bumped out of the theaters by the Christmas onslaught, and after two weeks of it being out, I was forced to drive over to Greeley to see it. As it happened, the only day I could make it was right after a big snowstorm that shellacked the highways with ice. I've never made such an effort to see a movie. As I sat in the theater waiting for it to start, I couldn't help dreading the impeding experience.
Turns out I was completely wrong in my expectations, as I often am. Although I thought I was gong to see a dreadful, formulaic heist-gone-wrong movie (about the inside-job robbery of an armored car), the story felt fresh and enlivened by interesting characters. I knew from the opening scenes, that set up the two main characters, that I was going to like, Matt Dillon, in particular, was superb as the bad guy, whose entire character is established in the opening shot of him looking in the mirror, and not liking what he is seeing.
The story---which was reminiscent of some of the work of Sidney Lumet---just flew by. There was just the right amount of action and violence to make it work, without going overboard. The casting was also particularly good.
There was, however, one thing that really bothered me about this movie. It was released by Sony Screen Gems. As in the case of Untraceable (2008) and this fall's Stepfather, both of them released through Sony Screen Gems as well, one of the main themes of the story is how evil people in our society can exploit holes in the electronic control grid. Armored has the lightest version of this particular theme, but it is still nevertheless present (basically it is that universal GPS tracking would solve everything).
The common but subtle message of these Sony movies seems to be: "Big Brother is good, but it needs to get even bigger in order to make us safe." With the release of Armored, the pattern is clear. Sony Screen Gems seems to like making these kinds of scripts, for whatever reason. I'm definitely keeping my eyes out for this in the future.
Verdict: a superb underated thriller-drama marred by an injection of totalitarian propaganda.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Planet 51
Seen at: Cinema Save 6, at 6:00 p.m on Dec. 21.
When I saw the trailer to this, it solved the mystery that had plagued me when I saw the dreadful Battle for Terra last spring in Massachussets. I thought that movie was Planet 51, for which I'd seen the trailer about a year ago. The theme of unwelcome human invaders in an alien world is so common now among animated features that I am getting them mixed up.
How many times must I saw it? If it's animated and it ain't Disney/Pixar, it's going to have goofy alien characters in it. Sometimes I get bored of being proven right so any times like this.
I like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, but he was a terrible choice for the human invader astronaut here. He's simply not a voice actor. Why was he chosen? The kids just don't care about the name actors.
Halfway through I realized this was really a time travel movie in disguise, about a hapless Postmodern emasculated boy-astronaut who gets thrust back into the 1950s. There was even a direct ripoff of, uh I mean homage to Back to the Future.
But what was the point? Not sure. To show how powerless we have now become? I guess I'm too much of a grumpus to enjoy lowbrow animation lately.
Bring in Avatar! Let's see Cameron's take on the human invader thing.
Verdict: I literally fell asleep in the middle of the movie for a few moments, but I didn't miss anything.
When I saw the trailer to this, it solved the mystery that had plagued me when I saw the dreadful Battle for Terra last spring in Massachussets. I thought that movie was Planet 51, for which I'd seen the trailer about a year ago. The theme of unwelcome human invaders in an alien world is so common now among animated features that I am getting them mixed up.
How many times must I saw it? If it's animated and it ain't Disney/Pixar, it's going to have goofy alien characters in it. Sometimes I get bored of being proven right so any times like this.
I like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, but he was a terrible choice for the human invader astronaut here. He's simply not a voice actor. Why was he chosen? The kids just don't care about the name actors.
Halfway through I realized this was really a time travel movie in disguise, about a hapless Postmodern emasculated boy-astronaut who gets thrust back into the 1950s. There was even a direct ripoff of, uh I mean homage to Back to the Future.
But what was the point? Not sure. To show how powerless we have now become? I guess I'm too much of a grumpus to enjoy lowbrow animation lately.
Bring in Avatar! Let's see Cameron's take on the human invader thing.
Verdict: I literally fell asleep in the middle of the movie for a few moments, but I didn't miss anything.
Ninja Assassin
Seen at: Cinema Saver 6 at 6:15 p.m on Dec. 19.
A blender full of blood and body parts would have been easier to watch than this. The story was mostly a metaphor for the worst kind of sadistic child abuse.
Verdict: Et tu, Wachowski Brothers?
A blender full of blood and body parts would have been easier to watch than this. The story was mostly a metaphor for the worst kind of sadistic child abuse.
Verdict: Et tu, Wachowski Brothers?
The Damned United
Seen at: Lyric Cinema Cafe, at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 17.
I'm not much of a soccer fan, and I know nothing of how the English professional leagues work. I was completely unfamiliar with the historical characters in this 1970s period piece.
The wonderful thing about movies is that even with these kinds of handicaps, if the story is well-told, you can wind up caring about the characters and what happens to them.
This was very much the case. Mostly when I go to movies, I wind up watching the clock. In most cases, by the end, I am waiting for the movie to be over so I can leave.
The Damned United was one of those cases where I never looked at my cellphone clock. At the end of the movie, I actually wanted it to go on with more of the story. This is pretty much the highest compliment I can pay to a film maker.
Verdict: suprisingly one of my favorites of the year. Another triumph for the versatile Michael Sheen.
I'm not much of a soccer fan, and I know nothing of how the English professional leagues work. I was completely unfamiliar with the historical characters in this 1970s period piece.
The wonderful thing about movies is that even with these kinds of handicaps, if the story is well-told, you can wind up caring about the characters and what happens to them.
This was very much the case. Mostly when I go to movies, I wind up watching the clock. In most cases, by the end, I am waiting for the movie to be over so I can leave.
The Damned United was one of those cases where I never looked at my cellphone clock. At the end of the movie, I actually wanted it to go on with more of the story. This is pretty much the highest compliment I can pay to a film maker.
Verdict: suprisingly one of my favorites of the year. Another triumph for the versatile Michael Sheen.
Dave Matthews: Larger than Life in 3D
Seen at: Carmike 10 in Ft. Collins at 10:00 p.m on Dec. 16.
One of the reasons I was looking forward to this was that before I walked in, I knew absolutely nothing about the Dave Matthews Band, except for one song.
I enjoyed the set-up to the movie, which gives one the feeling of actually going to a concert (in 3-D) complete down to the multiple repeated announcements about having your bags ready to be searched (I get it---we live in a police state with no rights. All right, already! This is why I don't go to concert events, so I can avoid this totalitarian crap).
The opening acts were interesting and fun. I was surprised, however, that the main act was not shot in the same locations as the first two acts, which sort of destroyed the feeling of going to a 3-D concert event.
At the end, I can't say I'm a fan of Dave Matthews, but I certainly became a fan of a 3-D concert movies.
Verdict: for a fifteen-buck special event, I guess it was worth it.
One of the reasons I was looking forward to this was that before I walked in, I knew absolutely nothing about the Dave Matthews Band, except for one song.
I enjoyed the set-up to the movie, which gives one the feeling of actually going to a concert (in 3-D) complete down to the multiple repeated announcements about having your bags ready to be searched (I get it---we live in a police state with no rights. All right, already! This is why I don't go to concert events, so I can avoid this totalitarian crap).
The opening acts were interesting and fun. I was surprised, however, that the main act was not shot in the same locations as the first two acts, which sort of destroyed the feeling of going to a 3-D concert event.
At the end, I can't say I'm a fan of Dave Matthews, but I certainly became a fan of a 3-D concert movies.
Verdict: for a fifteen-buck special event, I guess it was worth it.
Pirate Radio
Seen at: Cinema Saver 6 at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 16.
This wasn't quite the movie I thought it was going to be. It was much more listless and free-flowing than I expected. The conflict of the bad government guys trying to shut down the radio pirates was more of a level of farce than it would have been in a more "serious" production.
That being said, it was a fun movie to watch, with fun characters. As a period piece of the 1960s, it mostly succeeded. I couldn't help thinking that I'd never seen a movie with more shots of people sitting on toilets, however.
Verdict: not unpleasant way to fill a couple hours.
This wasn't quite the movie I thought it was going to be. It was much more listless and free-flowing than I expected. The conflict of the bad government guys trying to shut down the radio pirates was more of a level of farce than it would have been in a more "serious" production.
That being said, it was a fun movie to watch, with fun characters. As a period piece of the 1960s, it mostly succeeded. I couldn't help thinking that I'd never seen a movie with more shots of people sitting on toilets, however.
Verdict: not unpleasant way to fill a couple hours.
Transylmania
Seen at: Carmike 10 at 7:45 p.m on Dec. 10.
You can tell a vampire spoof is a going to be a bomb when it doesn't even get released during Halloween, but during the lull of pre-Christmas. Actually this is a really a "stupid college" movie masquerading as horror satire.
Whatever. I saw in the listing that it was leaving the Carmike after only a week, and thus I scrambled to see the early evening showing on it's last day there. As I announced the name of the movie to the ticket booth attendant, I added "because someone has to see it."
It lived up completely to my expectations. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad, but the first ten minutes were chock full of disgusting references to bodily fluids. It never really recovers from that.
There were a few moments when I laughed, mostly because it was sto stupid. But I was by myself in the theater, and I wound up doing my usual routine of counting the seats and even banging my head against the padding of the auditorium wall. Not the first time I've done that in Auditorium 9 in the corner of the Carmike, but I really hate when it gets that far.
Verdict: disgusting college comedy that no one could possibly love
You can tell a vampire spoof is a going to be a bomb when it doesn't even get released during Halloween, but during the lull of pre-Christmas. Actually this is a really a "stupid college" movie masquerading as horror satire.
Whatever. I saw in the listing that it was leaving the Carmike after only a week, and thus I scrambled to see the early evening showing on it's last day there. As I announced the name of the movie to the ticket booth attendant, I added "because someone has to see it."
It lived up completely to my expectations. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad, but the first ten minutes were chock full of disgusting references to bodily fluids. It never really recovers from that.
There were a few moments when I laughed, mostly because it was sto stupid. But I was by myself in the theater, and I wound up doing my usual routine of counting the seats and even banging my head against the padding of the auditorium wall. Not the first time I've done that in Auditorium 9 in the corner of the Carmike, but I really hate when it gets that far.
Verdict: disgusting college comedy that no one could possibly love
Good Hair
Seen at: Lyric Cinema Cafe, at 2:25 p.m on Dec 11.
When I walked into see this, I had reached a point where I had lost a lot of interesting in seeing movies. I was beginning to wonder if I might have to stop going to theaters for a while.
This movie cured everything. It is the kind of fun documentary (about what makes "good hair" among African Americans) that makes going to movies worthwhile. I loved every minute watching this, and never got bored for a second. Chris Rock was perfect.
Verdict: fun and very uplifting.
When I walked into see this, I had reached a point where I had lost a lot of interesting in seeing movies. I was beginning to wonder if I might have to stop going to theaters for a while.
This movie cured everything. It is the kind of fun documentary (about what makes "good hair" among African Americans) that makes going to movies worthwhile. I loved every minute watching this, and never got bored for a second. Chris Rock was perfect.
Verdict: fun and very uplifting.
Everybody's Fine
Seen at: Carmike 10 in Fort Collins, at 7:05 p.m. on Sat. Dec 5.
Towards the end of the movie starring De Niro as a man in a cross-country search for his adult children, it occurred to me that the story reminded me of European cinema. That is, the story felt "soft," in that it was character-driven and avoided conflict. This wasn't meant as a compliment. The story felt sort of well, drawn out and boring and had completely the wrong ending (a real downer). But at least, I thought, watching De Niro in any role is a pleasure.
At the end of the credits, I noticed that the movie was based on a Italian movie Stanno Tutti Bene. Ha! Can't fool me. I can spot soft Euro-cinema from a mile away.
Verdict: yawn
Towards the end of the movie starring De Niro as a man in a cross-country search for his adult children, it occurred to me that the story reminded me of European cinema. That is, the story felt "soft," in that it was character-driven and avoided conflict. This wasn't meant as a compliment. The story felt sort of well, drawn out and boring and had completely the wrong ending (a real downer). But at least, I thought, watching De Niro in any role is a pleasure.
At the end of the credits, I noticed that the movie was based on a Italian movie Stanno Tutti Bene. Ha! Can't fool me. I can spot soft Euro-cinema from a mile away.
Verdict: yawn
An Education
Seen at: Lyric Cinema Cafe, at 4:15 p.m on Dec. 4.
Verdict: a well-told coming-of-age story with interesting characters.
Verdict: a well-told coming-of-age story with interesting characters.
Paris
Seen at: Lyric Cinema Cafe, at 3:45 p.m on Dec. 2, 2009
The title made me skeptical that a movie could be worthy of the name of such a complex city, but in the end I felt it deserved it. The cinematography of these interweaving of sub-stories captures the many facets of Paris in a romantic-yet-nonromantic fashion, like a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower on a beautiful morning while standing by an alley that smells of last night's garbage. Many contradictions of the old and new inside one movie.
Verdict: je l'aimais beacuoup.
The title made me skeptical that a movie could be worthy of the name of such a complex city, but in the end I felt it deserved it. The cinematography of these interweaving of sub-stories captures the many facets of Paris in a romantic-yet-nonromantic fashion, like a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower on a beautiful morning while standing by an alley that smells of last night's garbage. Many contradictions of the old and new inside one movie.
Verdict: je l'aimais beacuoup.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
No Impact Man
Seen at: Lyric Cinema Cafe, at 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 25
About ten minutes into this documentary about a guy in New York who tries to lower his carbon footprint to zero, one begins to have all sorts of cynical thoughts about his project. Is he just a poseur.
The documentary is skillful in this regard, because it is actually wanting you to feel this, so that it can address it, and use the tension of the genuineness of his project to form the narrative structure underneath. In this regard, it was well done. My interest was sustained throughout.
Much of the narrative tension centers around the protagonist's relationship with his wife, and her involvement and enthusiasm for what they have been doing. The validity of the protagonist's crazy scheme then get mixed up in the wife's desire to have a baby. In that end, the documentary itself becomes a framing story for the issue of whether or not the husband is willing to accede to the wife's desire for a child. This part of the story becomes an interesting take on the standard Postmodern boy-man theme. Nice touch.
Verdict: worth watching, even if you think as I do that the "carbon footprint" thing is a globalist scam.
About ten minutes into this documentary about a guy in New York who tries to lower his carbon footprint to zero, one begins to have all sorts of cynical thoughts about his project. Is he just a poseur.
The documentary is skillful in this regard, because it is actually wanting you to feel this, so that it can address it, and use the tension of the genuineness of his project to form the narrative structure underneath. In this regard, it was well done. My interest was sustained throughout.
Much of the narrative tension centers around the protagonist's relationship with his wife, and her involvement and enthusiasm for what they have been doing. The validity of the protagonist's crazy scheme then get mixed up in the wife's desire to have a baby. In that end, the documentary itself becomes a framing story for the issue of whether or not the husband is willing to accede to the wife's desire for a child. This part of the story becomes an interesting take on the standard Postmodern boy-man theme. Nice touch.
Verdict: worth watching, even if you think as I do that the "carbon footprint" thing is a globalist scam.
The Blind Side
Seen at: Carmike 10, Ft. Collins, at 4:20 p.m. on Nov. 23.
Boy howdy, I was not looking forward to this movie. I'd seen the trailer about two dozen times by the time it premiered a couple weeks back, and I was eager to cross it off my list.
Shame on me. This was an awesome movie. It really broke my cynicism. It's full of interesting characters trying to be honorable and do the right thing in the face of difficulties and challenges. It rivals Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself as the most classical Hollywood movie of the year.
The most startling thing was that it broke what amounts to a three-decade long drought of positive Christian characters in movies. The purported Christians on screen actually strive to embody the Gospel and the teachings of Christ in regard to universal love, instead of playing to Christianoid stereotypes.
It really won me over. So did Sandra Bullock. Given her roles in The Proposal and All About Steve, it's obvious that Bullock, in her mid Forties, is really trying to challenge herself as an actress while she is in the age range to playing leading women in these kinds of roles (she's almost my same age, so I'm on her side in this regard). The trailers made me think she was biting off more than she could chew in this one, but those impressions were wrong. She strikes exactly the right note all the way through, and I concur with those putting her among the favorites for the Best Actress Oscar.
This movie isn't for everyone. If you're in a cynical mood, it might not work for you, but if it is approached with an open mind, I think it shines forth as superb cinematic storytelling with a breakthrough neo-Classical slant.
About the only disappointment I had about this movie was that although it was set in Memphis---a city I came to discover and love this year---it was filmed in Atlanta. Oh, well. You can't have it all.
Verdict: outstanding
Boy howdy, I was not looking forward to this movie. I'd seen the trailer about two dozen times by the time it premiered a couple weeks back, and I was eager to cross it off my list.
Shame on me. This was an awesome movie. It really broke my cynicism. It's full of interesting characters trying to be honorable and do the right thing in the face of difficulties and challenges. It rivals Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself as the most classical Hollywood movie of the year.
The most startling thing was that it broke what amounts to a three-decade long drought of positive Christian characters in movies. The purported Christians on screen actually strive to embody the Gospel and the teachings of Christ in regard to universal love, instead of playing to Christianoid stereotypes.
It really won me over. So did Sandra Bullock. Given her roles in The Proposal and All About Steve, it's obvious that Bullock, in her mid Forties, is really trying to challenge herself as an actress while she is in the age range to playing leading women in these kinds of roles (she's almost my same age, so I'm on her side in this regard). The trailers made me think she was biting off more than she could chew in this one, but those impressions were wrong. She strikes exactly the right note all the way through, and I concur with those putting her among the favorites for the Best Actress Oscar.
This movie isn't for everyone. If you're in a cynical mood, it might not work for you, but if it is approached with an open mind, I think it shines forth as superb cinematic storytelling with a breakthrough neo-Classical slant.
About the only disappointment I had about this movie was that although it was set in Memphis---a city I came to discover and love this year---it was filmed in Atlanta. Oh, well. You can't have it all.
Verdict: outstanding
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Seen at: Cinema Save 6, Ft. Collins, 9:00 p.m on Nov. 21
It took me forever to get around to seeing this, but I was rewarded when it wound up playing at the discount theater. I love it when that happens.
Well, you might know how I feel about non-Disney/Pixar animation. It almost always lets me down, on the story level if nothing else. In this case, the story wasn't so bad, but the animation really got to me. It was way too frenetic, with arms and legs flying everywhere in every scene. Every motion of the protagonist screamed of too much urgency of emotion. I got tired of it, and actually had to turn away from the screen a couple times to give my eyes a break.
Plus it just too stupidly messy. Maybe I would have liked it if I were a ten-year-old, but I don't think so. Let me check with my inner ten-year-old....nope, wouldn't have liked it in 1974 either.
Very fitting last time of the movie. The villain-mayor is sinking on a boat made of toast. The very last thing we hear is him saying, "This was a very bad idea."
Verdict: Headache-inducing animation to tell a passable narrative.
It took me forever to get around to seeing this, but I was rewarded when it wound up playing at the discount theater. I love it when that happens.
Well, you might know how I feel about non-Disney/Pixar animation. It almost always lets me down, on the story level if nothing else. In this case, the story wasn't so bad, but the animation really got to me. It was way too frenetic, with arms and legs flying everywhere in every scene. Every motion of the protagonist screamed of too much urgency of emotion. I got tired of it, and actually had to turn away from the screen a couple times to give my eyes a break.
Plus it just too stupidly messy. Maybe I would have liked it if I were a ten-year-old, but I don't think so. Let me check with my inner ten-year-old....nope, wouldn't have liked it in 1974 either.
Very fitting last time of the movie. The villain-mayor is sinking on a boat made of toast. The very last thing we hear is him saying, "This was a very bad idea."
Verdict: Headache-inducing animation to tell a passable narrative.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Aside: Climategate and Postmodernism
I agree with a lot of this op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.
Actually I think it crossed over a long time ago, around 1970. During that time, while physics disappeared into the pointless arcana navel-gazing of String Theory (itself a manifestation of the degeneracy of Postmodernism), physical sciences were stolen and hijacked by globalist UN bureaucrats in service to the bankers and eugenicists. The last few weeks have been the most exciting I have felt as a scientist (or ex-scientist)in two decades ever, and the most exciting I have felt for civilization since the fall of Communism.
(And yes I am fully aware that WSJ is owned by News Corp. Keep in mind that Fox put out a video in 2006 bragging about how it has put messages about global warming into all its shows, such as The Simpsons. They are part of the same globalist cabal. Fox News simply exists to provide controlled opposition for domestic conservative idiots. All of Murdoch's other news services around the world are vehemently in the globalist "warmist" camp. It all works very well, since most liberal folk I know will automatically oppose anything that a Fox News pundit advocates. Easy as pie---I know, because it used to work on me, until I woke up. All they have to do is play the fake global warming skeptic, have GE shill Keith Olbermann denounce them, and it works like a magic spell. That's how well they know how to control us).
What is happening at East Anglia is an epochal event. As the hard sciences—physics, biology, chemistry, electrical engineering—came to dominate intellectual life in the last century, some academics in the humanities devised the theory of postmodernism, which liberated them from their colleagues in the sciences. Postmodernism, a self-consciously "unprovable" theory, replaced formal structures with subjectivity. With the revelations of East Anglia, this slippery and variable intellectual world has crossed into the hard sciences.
Actually I think it crossed over a long time ago, around 1970. During that time, while physics disappeared into the pointless arcana navel-gazing of String Theory (itself a manifestation of the degeneracy of Postmodernism), physical sciences were stolen and hijacked by globalist UN bureaucrats in service to the bankers and eugenicists. The last few weeks have been the most exciting I have felt as a scientist (or ex-scientist)
(And yes I am fully aware that WSJ is owned by News Corp. Keep in mind that Fox put out a video in 2006 bragging about how it has put messages about global warming into all its shows, such as The Simpsons. They are part of the same globalist cabal. Fox News simply exists to provide controlled opposition for domestic conservative idiots. All of Murdoch's other news services around the world are vehemently in the globalist "warmist" camp. It all works very well, since most liberal folk I know will automatically oppose anything that a Fox News pundit advocates. Easy as pie---I know, because it used to work on me, until I woke up. All they have to do is play the fake global warming skeptic, have GE shill Keith Olbermann denounce them, and it works like a magic spell. That's how well they know how to control us).
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Seen at: Carmike 10 in Ft. Collins at 4:00 p.m. on Nov. 20
Well, I suppose you're expecting me to say how much this movie sucks, and what a travesty it is that it made a gazillion dollars during its opening weekend.
Yes, I could write about that, but there are about a hundred thousand other bloggers writing about that right now, and I just hate to be part of the herd.
So instead I'll just stick to discussing the story, and whether or not it works within the context of the fictional world created by the movie, specifically as an extension of last year's first installment, Twilight.
As it happens I had the pleasure of seeing this on the afternoon of the first day of release. The auditorium at the Carmike was filled with preteen girls and middle-aged women---and me. I always appreciate seeing a film within ints intended audience.
Does the story work? I suppose it does, mostly. Overall it's mostly boring and sort of slow-moving, but there is enough of a narrative to make it watchable.
Most of the story is about the love triangle. As you may know, it is a lvoe triangle in which a teenage girl must choose between a vampire or a werewolf. Well, that's just the surface level of the allegory. Really it's about a a teenage girl who must choose between her love for a 109-year-old man and her physical attraction to a beefcakey but immature sixteen-year-old boy. Guess who wins?
Yes, it's the latter part I found most interesting, since, if you've read any of my writings over the past year, I've become fascinated by Hollywood's continual twisted metaphorical sublimation of the taboo subject of intergenerational love. It keeps cropping up over and over in various weird guises, including one of last year's Academy Award Best Picture nominees.
And if you think the Twilight series doesn't have this subtext, just consider how it would work if Edward were a seventeen year old vampire. Or worse, what if it were a 109-year-odl female vampire having a romance with a a seventeen-year-old male mortal? What if the mortal boy had to choose between the centenarrian vampiress and a sixteen-year-old busty lycanthropic cheerleader. My point is not that there is a double standard, but that age matters here.
So imagine my surprise when one of my female Facebook acquaintences, nearly my age, complains about the men her age who are complaining about New Moon. They are just jealous they aren't young and hunky like Edward, she complained. That really made me chuckle, but just imagine the layers of metaphorical twisting that is involved here, that has "Twilight Moms" waiting outside theaters at midnight to see the first showing. Are they in love with a seventeen year old boy, or a 109-year-old man? What it were "Twilight dads"? Would we find that similarly endearing?
I don't have a lot of answers to these questions right now, but I have to admit that the fact that I'm thinking about them is a plus for the movie franchise as a whole.
Now, back to the story. Like I said, it was slow moving. The Third Act came on too abruptly. I really wanted to spend more time in that Italian hill town (not the first time I've said that in my life, by the way). I thought the Volturri were interesting, and expected to see more of them, given the trailer. Instead they played a fairly small role.
Also I was bit disappointed to see the smash-up of the marble Volturri throne room. Not again, I moaned. It was way too much like the similar smash up the Classic(al!) theater in the fight scene at the end of Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. Such a boring cliche.
But it makes sense, really. Vampires, as a metaphor, speak to Classicism stripped of moral character but retaining the Classical structure. Werewolves, on the other hand, are often about Classical morality stripped of its structure. I'll have to write about that sometime. I'm sure I'll get a chance soon. The Vampire movies just keep coming and coming.
By the way, the preteen girls has a mixed reaction to the story. They really didn't like the ending. One of them screamed out as much as the final credits hit. Tough crowd!
Verdict: If you liked the first one, might as well...
Well, I suppose you're expecting me to say how much this movie sucks, and what a travesty it is that it made a gazillion dollars during its opening weekend.
Yes, I could write about that, but there are about a hundred thousand other bloggers writing about that right now, and I just hate to be part of the herd.
So instead I'll just stick to discussing the story, and whether or not it works within the context of the fictional world created by the movie, specifically as an extension of last year's first installment, Twilight.
As it happens I had the pleasure of seeing this on the afternoon of the first day of release. The auditorium at the Carmike was filled with preteen girls and middle-aged women---and me. I always appreciate seeing a film within ints intended audience.
Does the story work? I suppose it does, mostly. Overall it's mostly boring and sort of slow-moving, but there is enough of a narrative to make it watchable.
Most of the story is about the love triangle. As you may know, it is a lvoe triangle in which a teenage girl must choose between a vampire or a werewolf. Well, that's just the surface level of the allegory. Really it's about a a teenage girl who must choose between her love for a 109-year-old man and her physical attraction to a beefcakey but immature sixteen-year-old boy. Guess who wins?
Yes, it's the latter part I found most interesting, since, if you've read any of my writings over the past year, I've become fascinated by Hollywood's continual twisted metaphorical sublimation of the taboo subject of intergenerational love. It keeps cropping up over and over in various weird guises, including one of last year's Academy Award Best Picture nominees.
And if you think the Twilight series doesn't have this subtext, just consider how it would work if Edward were a seventeen year old vampire. Or worse, what if it were a 109-year-odl female vampire having a romance with a a seventeen-year-old male mortal? What if the mortal boy had to choose between the centenarrian vampiress and a sixteen-year-old busty lycanthropic cheerleader. My point is not that there is a double standard, but that age matters here.
So imagine my surprise when one of my female Facebook acquaintences, nearly my age, complains about the men her age who are complaining about New Moon. They are just jealous they aren't young and hunky like Edward, she complained. That really made me chuckle, but just imagine the layers of metaphorical twisting that is involved here, that has "Twilight Moms" waiting outside theaters at midnight to see the first showing. Are they in love with a seventeen year old boy, or a 109-year-old man? What it were "Twilight dads"? Would we find that similarly endearing?
I don't have a lot of answers to these questions right now, but I have to admit that the fact that I'm thinking about them is a plus for the movie franchise as a whole.
Now, back to the story. Like I said, it was slow moving. The Third Act came on too abruptly. I really wanted to spend more time in that Italian hill town (not the first time I've said that in my life, by the way). I thought the Volturri were interesting, and expected to see more of them, given the trailer. Instead they played a fairly small role.
Also I was bit disappointed to see the smash-up of the marble Volturri throne room. Not again, I moaned. It was way too much like the similar smash up the Classic(al!) theater in the fight scene at the end of Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. Such a boring cliche.
But it makes sense, really. Vampires, as a metaphor, speak to Classicism stripped of moral character but retaining the Classical structure. Werewolves, on the other hand, are often about Classical morality stripped of its structure. I'll have to write about that sometime. I'm sure I'll get a chance soon. The Vampire movies just keep coming and coming.
By the way, the preteen girls has a mixed reaction to the story. They really didn't like the ending. One of them screamed out as much as the final credits hit. Tough crowd!
Verdict: If you liked the first one, might as well...
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