April 8th, 2009, No Comments »
The legendary Leonard Cohen is, as you probably know, on tour. He comes to Vancouver on April 19. Today the National Film Board blog features a 45-minute documentary on Cohen from 1965. I haven’t watched much of it yet, but it begins with a charming, funny monologue and, a little later on, has some great insights into the secret joys of hotel rooms:
March 23rd, 2009, 9 Comments »
Watchmen is not as much a movie as it is a nearly-three hour treatise on post-modernism in the superhero genre. It’s two hours of back story followed by 45 minutes of story.
I use the word ’story’ there because the movie unfolds with barely a causal event. A writing prof taught me that story was “the king died and then the queen died”, while a plot was “the king dies, and then the queen died of grief”. Because of the movie’s dense exposition and constant flashbacks, we see Watchmen’s story unfold around the characters, instead of them making the plot happen.
This makes for a remarkably dull movie. The film’s themes–is vigilantism an effective replacement for organized justice?, is the survival of the many worth the sacrifice of the few?, how does the threat of nuclear annihilation change our behaviour?– were pretty revolutionary in 1986, when the comic book was released, but they’re utterly familiar to comic readers and movie watchers today. That’s to writer Alan Moore’s credit–the comics are kind of a Citizen Kane for the industry. Watchmen have been so influential and imitated that the originals have lost some of its effectiveness.
There’s a lot to like in the movie. It looks great, and the cast is refreshingly free of household names (save for the excellent Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan, who spends most of his scenes nude and glowing blue). It’s also intensely violent–we’re talking Sin City in full colour. Some of the dialogue is clunky, but I imagine we can blame that on adherence to the original comics.
The movie also takes itself way too seriously. I’ve said it before, but (with rare exceptions) great movies always find ways to make us laugh. This ought to be doubly true when the film’s about a bunch of vigilantes running around in latex.
Metacritic gives the film a 56, which feels about right to me. There was plenty of eye candy (beginning with Malin Akerman, if she could lose the indie bangs), and some entertaining tropes, but too often I felt bored and fidgety. What did you think?
Photo by TCM Hitchhiker.
February 11th, 2009, 3 Comments »
I was recently reading New Yorker magazine, and encountered a reference to a sub-genre of movies called “mumblecore”. From Wikipedia:
Mumblecore is an American independent film movement that arose in the early 2000s.It is primarily characterized by ultra-low budget production (often employing digital video cameras), focus on personal relationships between twenty-somethings, improvised scripts, and non-professional actors. Filmmakers in this genre include Lynn Shelton, Andrew Bujalski, Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Aaron Katz, Joe Swanberg, Todd Rohal and Ry Russo-Young.
Based on box office revenue and some crowd-sourced review sites I checked, mumblecore has yet to find its 2001: A Space Odyssey. Of the list in Wikipedia, I’d only heard of one of the films, Baghead, and I hadn’t even seen that one.
Truth be told, these films sound like dreadful, film school wankery. But, then, I’d better watch one or two before I actually pass judgment. Have you seen Baghead? Or maybe Dance Party USA?
January 20th, 2009, 5 Comments »
We took two cameras to Panama last month–our workhorse Nikon D70 and Julie’s old-school Pentax K1000. We shot four or five rolls of film with the Pentax, and (after soliciting advice from you, my dear readers), I finally got around to getting it developed at the local Lens & Shutter (click-click, click-click).
The battery on the light meter on the Pentax was depleted, so for the first couple of rolls we had to just eye ball things. Compound this with the fact that some of the film was expired (we knew this, and embraced any wacky results), and our efforts were a bit spotty. Here are a few–I won’t say favourites. Here are a few that were not deleted with more certainty than the others:
July 25th, 2008, 15 Comments »
I was chatting with somebody yesterday about comic book movies. I don’t think there’s been a truly great super hero movie yet. I’m talking about the movie that is to super hero movies what 2001 or Star Wars is to science fiction films, or The Godfather is to gangster movies.
Why hasn’t there been a great super hero movie yet? I’m not entirely sure. One reason, I think, is that most of them don’t aspire (or achieve) to sophisticated themes or allegory. I didn’t walk out of The Dark Knight thinking, “man, that was really an exceptional meditation on…well, anything.” Maybe they’ll never do that, but I think it’s almost a prerequisite for making a great movie.
I should specify that I’m referring to live action movies here. I think The Incredibles is a more accomplished and complete film that every superhero starring actual humans in rubber suits that I’ve seen. I’m excluding Sin City because it’s not really about super heroes, as far as I can remember.
I’m curious what you, dear readers, think has been the greatest (most accomplished, best or whatever superlative fits) superhero movie thus far. Here’s a poll. To keep the list shortish, I’m choosing the better films according to Metacritic. If you think Daredevil is the greatest superhero movie, well, shame on you.
I’m sure I’ve missed a bunch. I’ll add suggestions if Poll Daddy lets me.
July 13th, 2008, 7 Comments »
Note: This website is habitually G-rated when it comes to language (okay, maybe 14 Years). By necessity, this post features use of the F-bomb. If that troubles you, skip ahead.
Yesterday I saw Young People Fucking (here’s the trailer), a charming Canadian sex comedy. It’s a highly-structured movie, following five couples through five stages of an evening of sex (from ‘prelude’ to ‘afterglow’). The couples represent a variety of typical relationships–the first date, the exes, the friends, the couple and the roommates.
So, we end up with a movie in 25 short scenes exploring and poking (heh) gentle fun at the foibles, morays and politics of sex. It’s a reasonably witty film, with enough laughs to sustain the formal structure. Despite the title, there’s actually very little nudity in the film–you’d see as much on an average episode of The L-Word. Roger Ebert sums up the film nicely:
No great lessons are learned. There is little high drama. As it stands, the screenplay could supply fodder for countless theatrical companies. It’s…engaging, that’s what it is. These are all essentially nice people. Canadians, you know.
It’s a small sample group, but Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 80%.
The ensemble cast is generally good, with Callum Blue (previously seen in the excellent and gone-too-soon “Dead Like Me”) and Carly Pope (previously seen in “Popular”) standing out. I think Ms. Pope has gotten a bit of a short shrift from Hollywood, she can punch well above her current weight class. Plus, she has terrific eye brows. I did have a trivial complaint about the title. Nearly everyone in the cast is on the wrong side of 30, so I’m not sure it’s fair to go with ‘Young People’. I rather like the shorter title People Fucking.
It’s no great masterpiece, and it’s a bit risque for a first date movie, but I recommend it. The movie had a ridiculously short run here in Victoria, and probably won’t last in other cinemas across the country in the busy summer season. Seek it out or rent Young People Fucking. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
June 9th, 2008, 4 Comments »
A little reluctantly, I went to see the movie adaptation of that Canadian classic, The Stone Angel, yesterday. I may have my passport confiscated for this admission, but I’ve never read the novel. So, I came to the movie with fresh eyes.
My poor, poor eyes.
The movie committed that awful cinematic sin: it bored me silly. The film is a series of connected flashbacks, telling the long and difficult life story of persnickety, old Hagar Shipley. Like so many movies before it (Big Fish and The Notebook immediately spring to mind), it uses a variety of actors and creative makeup to lead us through the years.
Unfortunately, Shipley’s story doesn’t feel very fresh. We’ve seen so many of these scenes before:
I could go on. From a writing and directing perspective, the movie is remarkably proficient. Here are just two examples. Early in the film Hagar meets the love of her life, Bram, at a dance. He’s well dressed. Later they go out on a picnic, and remarks that he owns the land around them “as far as the eye can see”. A modern audience assumes that he’s well-off. In fact, a major plot point rests on the fact that he’s actually poor, despite all this evidence to the contrary.
At one point, in the film’s present, the ownership of a house is contested. There’s no indication in the flashbacks of how Hagar actually acquires this house. In fact, given the trajectory of her life, it seems very unlikely.
Likewise, I felt like director Kari Skogland made some odd editing and cinematography decisions. Scenes dragged on needlessly. At the aforementioned dance scene early in the film, she whips out the steady-cam to shoot a dancing couple in a very intimate and contemporary style. The decision makes us hyper-aware of the camera’s presence, which is generally an undesirable result in a period piece.
It’s a pity that the movie was so inexpert and banal, because the cast is rich with talent. Ellen Burstyn, Dylan Baker, Ellen Page, newcomer Christine Horne–the list of terrific actors goes on and on. Burstyn et al do their best, but the dialogue is often so stilted (at one point an eight-year-old warns another that she’ll “get her comeuppance”) that they seem to be working too hard.
It’s hard to watch The Stone Angel without seeing all the seams. Truth be told, I’m going easy on it in this post–after the acting, there was so much to criticize.
March 20th, 2008, 3 Comments »
Just a quick note to pimp two events in which I’m participating:
Tuesday, March 25, 2008, 5:30pm - NetTuesday’s An Evening of “Green” Web 2.0! - Stories from the Edge on Using the Web to Save Our Planet and Foster More Sustainable Communities. Whew, long title. I’m one of three speakers, and I’m going to be discussing “DeSmogBlog.com, and how they’ve used social media and web marketing over the past two years to increase their traffic (by 300%!) and influence. From old school email newsletters to Flickr contests and Twitter, DeSmogBlog offers an excellent case study in how to build a following using social media.” See also the event on Facebook.
Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Bridging Media - I’ll be on a panel entitled “Buzz Builders: Using Multi-platforms To Build A Buzz and An Audience Around Your Project”. Wow, I get all the long titles. Here’s the blurb on that panel: “From film to television to the internet, defining your audience is an integral portion in the conceptualizing stage of a project. Are you using the accessible channels of communication to speak to your audience, draw a crowd and create buzz around your work? This panel will focus on, and show examples of, the use of various mediums and technologies to build a community and get your project to your audience.” I’ll be speaking alongside many of the usual suspects.
November 6th, 2007, 3 Comments »
Life is stranger than art. “Put off by the mountain of paperwork and regulations set by council chiefs”, the good citizens of Devon celebrated Guy Fawkes night crowded around a, uh, video of a bonfire:
Around 2,000 people turned up and paid £2 a ticket to wave sparklers and munch hot dogs in front of the UK’s first ever virtual bonfire. Club president Paul Crabb, of Ilfracombe, Devon, said the night was “twice the fun with half the hassle”.
Paul, 38, said: “We always used to have a bonfire but in the end it got too much. We were expected to fill out form after form.
“The number of bits of paper you have to wade through to hold a bonfire is just insane. I thought the idea was to light a fire and have a laugh - but the council are all ‘risk assessment’ and ‘liability’. All the fun went out of it.”
You couldn’t make that up. Mark down another win for our overly-protective and litigious society.
August 31st, 2007, 2 Comments »
Via Mad About Movies, I read about the fictionalized version of Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire’s haunting account of the Rwanda genocide, Shake Hands With the Devil. It’s a Canadian production, and stars Roy Dupuis as Dallaire. I thought Dupuis was excellent in The Rocket. Here’s the trailer:
I’m judging a book by its cover, but this version (there’s also a documentary of the same name) seems more hopeful and redemptive than the book, which felt pretty bleak to me.
On a barely related note, Marina also links to the trailer for The Mist, a new horror film based on one of my favourite Stephen King short stories. If you ask me, they show way too much of the baddies.
