Archive for December, 2005
A History of Violence is a David Cronenberg film. This means a sense of unease and sudden shocks. He knows we know. So the opening sequence is brilliant. A long, languid tracking shot of a couple of guys - could be anyone - checking out of a motel. Something feels wrong, but there’s nothing really to put your finger on. You sit and wait for the shock which does not come.
You can tell it’s a Cronenberg flick. People get shot, but you see that in all kinds of movies these days. Only Cronenberg will stop for a second and show you the left over bits of jaw hanging off the face. It’s only for a second, but it’s enough.
There are a couple of different layers at work in the story. One is typical Cronenberg - the issue of self: what defines you as you; revulsion at your self (be it your body or your mind). Here it’s more about the mind of the mild-mannered guy, locked in the body of a killer.
The other layer is political: what justifies violence? The son hitting back on the bully feels provoked, but at that specific point they had done nothing more than talk. The son launched a pre-emptive retaliation against his bullies.
Another reading of this might pose the biological question: is a proclivity for violence inheritable? Does the son react violently because of the father’s true nature?
Great movie, with great pacing. Granted: it’s a slow pace, but that makes it all the more enjoyable.
Also, some sex scenes that you wouldn’t expect to see the former Mr. Aragorn in. Nudge nudge. Know what I mean?
December 31st, 2005
The Chronicles of Narnia - visually impressive, but hampered by the source material. I really don’t buy that the whiny teenager becomes an able swordsman overnight. It might work in a childrens book, but on screen it just just looks unbelievable. He can barely hold a stick, much less a two handed sword, let alone kill anyone with it.
The Christian messages (redemption, tolerance, belief) aren’t hammered to heavily - the analgies are there, but they remain analogies. Still, I look forward to hearing how this movie featuring magic is “good”, while other movies featuring magic are “bad”.
December 31st, 2005
Result! - the dead animal is now dinner.
December 24th, 2005
King Kong - superb. Maybe 10 minutes too long, but after the first fifteen minutes the story barrels along like the roller-coaster ride it is supposed to be. Kong vs the Dinosaurs is astounding, but it is annoyingly filmed in the currently-popular close-up , where a jumble of legs, teeth, arms, fists and heads blur past the camera. The odd medium shot wouldn’t have killed the mood, you know?
Kong looks amazing.
Aslan (in the Narnia trailer) looks decidedly more iffy. Less solid for some bizarre reason.
There is just something immensely satisfying in watching a huge, angry, potbellied gorilla go nuts, and then fall in love. Absolutely stunning.
December 15th, 2005
300 was a well told tale of the battle of Thermopylae. A good comic book: striking visuals, a broad and clear story-line, buckets of attitude, fast pacing. It is being turned into a film - which should be interesting to watch.
But I just finished Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield, and it kicks ass. Like the historical Roma-sub-Rosa novels of Steven Saylor it manages to fill in the daily details of life in the ancient world (but not as well as Roma-sub-Rosa does it). Also it tells the story in flashback, which is a nice way to allow the story skip around a bit, and to let it cover more of life in Sparta, not just the battle itself. The descriptions of training, of battle, of tactics are what make the book really fascinating. The descriptions of the battle itself makes the D-Day scenes in Private Ryan seem tame in comparison.
December 7th, 2005
Damn Joss Whedon. Bastard!
Killing off likeable characters suddenly and unexpectedly is not the Hollywood Way!
Wasn’t he paying attention in scriptwriting-for-idiots class?
Fuck.
I’m gonna have to see it again in the hope that it turns out better the second time round.
December 3rd, 2005
