More Reviewy Thingys

DODGE THIS

It seems some cinephiles fail to “get” The Matrix. I remember Roger Ebert’s review on his and the late Gene Siskel’s program At the Movies compared it unfavorably to Dark City, and the shared consensus of he and then guest critic Joel Siegel was “at least it tries.” Honestly, I don’t think anyone can fully appreciate this film until they have some understanding of Japanese animation and comics, which I’m sure Roger Ebert does not. Much like Star Wars was an amalgamation of film and television classicism and mythological archetypes, The Matrix unites anime and manga influenced cinematography with wuxia style action sequences. But this isn’t to undermine its Western roots; recall Neo and Smith’s final battle: a Mexican standoff of patently “Western” flavor, complete with a listless tumble-weed, only now it’s subway garbage. Sweetly topped off of course with (increasingly) relevant Internet society commentary, The Matrix is technocalyptic, philosophical, purely kick-ass filmmaking at its very best. I firmly believe that its quality and relevance is only beginning to be understood, and no film maker will ever entirely escape (or dodge, har) its impact.

YOU KNOW, THAT GOD THING

The most crucial part of The Seventh Seal to me is the fact that Jof and his family are the only ones to escape “unscathed.” Of course they too will eventually join the dance of death, but that naive optimism can only come from such absolute faith.

I don’t believe Bergman is advertising Christianity though, and perhaps I am interpreting the film through my own beliefs, but I think the point is more that faith is indeed a powerful thing, and that God and Satan (or what they represent) exist in us all. The scene in the chapel after Antonius’s confession, when he marvels at his own hand, to me that is Bergman asserting: Man is God and creator of his own domain, master of his own body. This is my hand, and I can move it.

Again this could be less Bergman and more my own beliefs, but you can’t really watch this film without laying down, in black and white, what DO you believe? Which is the film’s true power, I think.

This motif of absoluteness, of "black and white," is hugely significant. The film of course is not in color, and whether or not this was a creative choice or sign of the times truthfully isn’t important; the similarity to and (apparent) emulation of a chess board and pieces results in images as beautiful and meaningful as they come.

Super Dead

I had planned to write a review of the film Die Hard and talk about the quintessential American-ness of it, and why this wasn't propagandic hero-worship (despite overtly foreign, even Aryan villains), but why the film was in truth an examination of such worship, particularly in the film medium. In short, Die Hard shows that us Americans like our ultimate badasses, and that their super-human qualities expressed through the average Joe has a legitimately positive and inspiring effect on viewers (personified by the Sgt. Powell character).

But then I decided that there was only one sentence in all the world that could effectively and accurately describe the film, and at the (brilliant) urgence of a friend, I let the review stay at that. Here is that sentence in all its concise glory:

In Die Hard, people don't just die -- they super die.

Snob snob snob

Long time no post. These are, based on my experience and reaction, the most overrated, uninteresting, boring, Oskar Bate films of 2009. I can not grasp or even begin to fathom the praise for them.

Let it be known that I haven’t seen many non-American films this year, because, well I’m a fat American who enjoys all manner of apparatus-flung spheroids.


STAR TREK
I at least get the appeal here, I guess. I enjoy Trek as much as the next nerd, but I’m not really a fan, so that right there detracted from my enjoyment. Even taken on summer movie terms, though, I still found it boring. The production design was fantastic; all the sets, props, and costumes were a joy to look at; but I could never get over the annoying cinematography. So many cuts and close-ups! This is a very dynamic way of shooting films that is a popular trend right now, very Bourne kind of stuff, and I do not think it works for sci-fi. When there’s fantastic technological wonders zipping across the screen, explosions used like most people use punctuation, all the magic is lost. We should be able soak that stuff in, really appreciate the craft and thought gone into their design. Star Trek, to its great detriment, never lets up.

DISTRICT 9
I said all there was to say in my review already, but I think that this film and the other sci-fi duds of the year were so well received because there has been such a shortage of great films in the genre. This drought has people so thirsty that they guzzle down whatever droplets are being produced and think them to be great works.

AVATAR
This could be a trilogy of sorts; “Sci-Fi 2009: When Tastes Dilute.”

UP IN THE AIR
Jason Reitman needs to stop with the musically-edited opening credits sequences. They bother me.

UP
This is the big one. I am so baffled by this film’s love. Am I really such a bastard that I was apparently the only person not moved to tears by this aesthetically-challenged, bland, wheeze of a forgettable film? You’ve got two geezers, for all intents and purposes senile, fighting each other on top of a freaking zeppelin. This should have been incredible! But it wasn't – it was boring. Totally, unforgivably dead on the screen.