muffingoddess38 Reviews

Brick (2005)

The State of Noir (post John Waters)

[9/10 · 30 June 2008]

Joseph Gordon-Levitt can often be trusted to pick sleek little scripts that often seem to be too cool for their own good, and writer-director Rian Johnson's text is no different.

Protagonist Brendan Frye (Gordon-Levitt) is equal parts Phillip Marlowe and John Bender, a teenage boy who's hardboiled and stoic exterior masks emotional damage that rarely cracks the surface, but boils away beneath like the smoke filled tunnel's of Raymond Chandler's L.A.. Like Chandler's L.A., the world Frye explores is dark and sinister with villains (a drug addict jock, a drug kingpin, and his hot-headed muscle) and femme fatales creeping out of every suburban California hole. Steve Yedlin's cinematography brings back the work of noir greats like Arthur Edeson and Sid Hickox, and the soundtrack injects the scale that only a Morricone-esquire score can provide. Aside from the film's breathtaking style, the actors seem to think they're in a Roman Polanski film, most likely Chinatown, which takes some getting used to initially, but is certainly a brave choice.

Brick is a taut, gritty noir that some how manages to keep the smoking manholes and hazy streetlight tradition of modern noirs like L.A. Confidential alive while stretching the genre in a new, and very intriguing direction: the sun-bleached backyards and hallways of San Clemente.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Well....It's an Indy Movie.

[7/10 · 3 June 2008]

There are times when your reputation precedes you. Taken out of the context of the rest of the Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a rather strong entry in the blockbuster category for Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, well above par for such films (though films like National Treasure and The Mummy tended to set that bar at a reachable level.) The fourth Indiana Jones film was almost expected to be a second coming: a magic reunion of the creator of the blockbuster (Spielberg), the creator of fanboys (writer/co-creator George Lucas), and America's ever suffering, ever dependable scoundrel hero, Harrison Ford. Add in possibly the best actress working today, Cate Blanchett, the return of Karen Allen, and that kid the teenagers love (the undeservedly downplayed Shia LaBeouf) and you should have a project that not only breaks records, but produces a darn good result.

On its own, KoCS is a strong action/adventure film, but, for an Indy movie its, well, mediocre. It seems like all the elements are there. Harrison Ford barely creaks as the sixty-something adventurer, and LaBeouf is much less annoying and much more endearing than certain other Indy sidekicks (like Kate Capshaw.) John Hurt takes a sorrowful turn as one of Dr. Jones's colleagues whose mind has gone. The acting is better than passable and the effects, though at times more creaky than Ford, are satisfactory. What is missing?

Well, much like our leading man himself, the series doesn't seem what it used to be. While moving the film to the 50s to accommodate Indy's age is a good idea, the typical white-black Indiana Jones morality doesn't fit the Cold War model as well. When the FBI are as dubious as the KGB, the rules of the game have changed, perhaps for the better, but when the nuclear paranoia goes the way of 50s sci-fi, it seems that Spielberg and Lucas have stretched the Indy universe a little too far a little too fast, and fans are feeling the chafing.

So the issue is then not what is missing, but what has changed. Nevertheless, new viewers will be pleasantly surprised and hopefully old fans will be able to adjust. Perhaps if the aliens didn't look like the typical Spielberg universe extraterrestrials, the faithful wouldn't be so upset. Maybe giving Ford some good one-liners would have helped too.

The Invisible Man (2000–2002)

Entertaining and Smart, Sci-fi to be proud of

[9/10 · 17 February 2008]

Intelligent, wry, and thrilling, "The Invisible Man" stood out in 2000 among Sci-Fi's usual lineup, balancing out "Farscape"'s fantastical art direction and sometimes melodramatic script with gritty, cynical plots and modern noir dialogue. The show sat between "Law and Order" and "Doctor Who" on the believability meter, but there was no denying the fact that "I-Man"'s characters went beyond caricature. Even characters that verged on predictability like the Keeper, the Official, and Eberts were given reprieves from the formulaic. Paul Ben-Victor and Vincent Ventresca had a chemistry that evolved and shifted elegantly, made even more remarkable by the revolving door team of writers and directors. The effects are never allowed to overwhelm the plot, and the science only sometimes verged on the totally unbelievable. The show's low points are still entertaining, and I've never seen such taut pilot episodes. Matt Greenberg and Sci-Fi should be commended, and fans have the right to demand a comprehensive DVD edition of the show. Every time I come across a marathon of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" on Sci-Fi, I roll my eyes and sigh, mourning the excitement and possibility of science fiction television that "Invisible Man" and its ilk represented.

Fido (2006)

I wish I didn't have to wait for this to come out in the US...

[9/10 · 5 November 2006]

I suppose the ultimate curse of attending the Toronto Film Festival is your release date time table get messed up. Quite frankly, I'm just happy Fido got picked up for US distribution. In any case...

Ever seen Shaun of the Dead? Good. How about Lassie? Able to reconcile the two? Well, if you can your name might be Andrew Currie, Canadian helmer of the first ever family themed zombie comedy, or zomedy. (Seriously, that's what the press book in Toronto called it.) Though not as violent, dry, or British as Shaun of the Dead, Fido remains true to its roots: a devotion to old 50s black and white television including both Lassie and the infamous sci-fi pulp that was being pumped out during the period.

Fido's talented headliners (Carrie Anne Moss, Billy Connelly, Dylan Baker, and Tim Blake Nelson) stand as a testament to the brilliance of the script. The film explores all the implications of its premise: a world where zombies have been converted to servants because of the sheer number of them due to a strange accident. What would you use your new undead servant for? A butler? Manual labor? A pet? Unspeakable acts? Fido tackles all these possibilities in a sweet and surprisingly classy way, with much thanks to the work of Connelly (as one of said zombies) and young TV actor K'Sun Ray, who seems at times to be a better young Elijah Wood than the young Elijah Wood was.

If you're expecting another Shaun of the Dead, don't waste your time. There's not nearly enough gore and pokes at the genre to satisfy you and you'll just leave the theater bitter and depressed. But if you're willing to take a look at what happens to Shaun of the Dead when it jumps across the lake, you're in for a treat. Think of Fido as the sensitive, more often beaten up little brother to Shaun of the Dead's rebellious loser, and you're starting to get the drift. If you like (or at least tolerate) zombies, small children, and loads of deadpan satire, Fido's the film for you. If that's not the case....well, you know the drill. Just hit 'em square between the eyes.

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

So there is a use to enchantment!

[9/10 · 2 September 2005]

I don't think myself overly literary for reading Bruno Bettelheim's "The Uses of Enchantment," but forgive me for being obscure. In his book, Bettelheim analyzes common fairy tales for their underlying psychological and cultural meanings. He makes a great argument for the telling of fairy tales, even if they are slightly (or more than slightly) graphic, which is why I am partly able to explain my fascination with this film.

It's not really overly good really, as you've probably seen more of a seven out of ten, but yet it fascinates me. Perhaps it's the psychological element between the two brothers (which is done quite well) about the importance/existence of magic, or the surreal score peppered with Brahms and Dario Marianelli originals. (I have no idea who this guy is, but the soundtrack is so weird that I want it.) Perhaps it's the horror invoked by the fairy tale images of our childhood, brought horribly to life in the (thankfully) twisted mind of Terry Gilliam.

Oh, a little note about Terry Gilliam. You're going to have to forgive him because his pace can be a little bit feverish, and he tends to lose the viewer that's not paying attention. (He did make "Time Bandits" and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," and you know how much of THAT made sense.) Do not question how the Grimm boys get from one end of Germany to another so quickly. Your head will explode.

Basically, this film makes me happy for a couple of reasons: one, the dialogue. It's strangely antiquated one minute, then purely Hollywood the next. (Don't worry about the anachronisms they're supposed to be there, they're funny.) Two, his name starts with Heath and ends with Ledger. Now, I didn't used to like this guy. I thought he was just a deep throated Aussie, but the boy's got range. I didn't know he could lack confidence so well. (Now I'm teasing, but really, he's quite good.) Damon was wonderful as always, proving over and over again that he may not be the prettier, but he's the smarter half of "Ben-att". Three, they're fairy tales in their ghoulish, bloody glory. Wait till you see both Little Red Riding Hood scenes, you'll totally freak out. It's nightmarish in such a way that you can't take your eyes off it. It's not morbid fascination, like a car accident, but something deeper, the sense of childlike wonder that make kids watch the most disgusting thing (like insects or TOADS) for hours.

What is the point? You might ask. Why should I see this piece of rubbish instead of "The 40 Year Old Virgin" for the 6th time? Or, in the long run, rent "The Princess Bride"? (You should rent both by the way, it'd make a lovely double feature.) Well, I still can't watch the waxing scene, but here's the real point: Fairy tales have a purpose. They give us comfort when we are in crises, and delight and frighten us when we need to have fun. What we see in Ledger's character (Jacob) is the child who shelters himself with fairy tales. What we see in Damon's (the older, Will) is the adult who wants to take him away from him. And as Bettelheim says, fantasy is not nearly as cruelly unforgiving as reality, so let him keep them. I still need a little Sleeping Beauty now and then. There's something strangely comforting about waking to true love's kiss.

Troy (2004)

Troy and the Fog of War

[15 May 2004]

Note: There are some vague spoilers here, but nothing new if you've read any Homer, or even the Cliff Notes of the Illiad.

Anyone who has read Homer should know the plot of Troy. But you don't, and perhaps that's a good thing. The costuming, hair, and fighting are correct for the time period, but the plot definitely isn't Homer. This movie is "inspired by" the Illiad, not based on it. People die that are supposed to live and those that are supposed to die rarely die at the right time or at all. But what are timelines in the face of modern cinema? You cannot tell that the war lasted ten years in Wolfgang Peterson's version, but, frankly, you probably won't care. Peterson has given us characters to cheer for, wince at, and question.

The questioning is probably the most attractive part. Achilles is by no means perfect, and although Paris is more appealing than he seems in the Illiad, he is still a coward. But we forgive him, and not just because he is Orlando Bloom. We forgive Paris because he tries to be a hero, and he fails. He is human in that sense.

I'm actually incredibly surprised by Orlando Bloom's performance in this movie. His scenes with Hector are incredibly well done. His Paris is much more forgivable then I like to think of him as, but Paris is in love. Ohhhhhhh love, not lust, love. What a change.

Brad Pitt and Eric Bana are great as two incredible forces on the battlefield who are fated to bump into one another. Bana has the perfect face and stance for a Mediterranean in Troy's time period, and I couldn't help comparing him to pre-classical statues. Pitt is not the Achilles I imagined, but few men are. He is brooding and philosophical, and has as much a sense of fate as Hector does.

Troy shows all the stupid reasons we go to war and all the stupid reasons we stay at war. It shows senseless killing, huge egoes, and pointless death. It is war as it has always been and always will be.

Many will see Troy's political aims, especially those who heard Wolfgang Peterson's comments on the films, but please don't let that make up your mind for you. Troy shows war as it truly is: chaos that can cause a kind-hearted, peaceful man to kill a defenseless kid in his cousin's armor.