Sunday, November 8, 2015
The Peanuts Movie (2015)
Blue Sky did the best job to date in getting Dr. Seuss right with Horton Hears a Who. Likewise, they have constructed an absolute valentine to the work of Charles Shulz in The Peanuts Movie. The film breaks no new ground. It doesn't have to. It captures what makes Peanuts great. Grade: B+
Sunday 11/8/15
Hey Jose Cuervo, you keep running an ad bragging that The Rolling Stones brought you on tour in 1972. Do you realize that "Miss You" which plays on the ad, did not get released until 1978?
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Actual promo on ABC yesterday. "at 3:30 Florida State at Clemson, brought to you by Kay Jewelers, followed at 8:00 with Minnesota at Ohio State, brought to you by Wal-Mart." Trying to tell us something with the sponsors?
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I am enjoying this season of Amazing Race more than any I can remember. I am sure part of it is not dealing with that stupid Blind Date premise of the previous season. The primary reason is the casting of Justin and Diana. Justin is loud and obnoxious. He also is a huge fan of the show, smart and very, very good at this game. Watching other teams reactions to him and getting flustered at Justin's confidence. It's truly entertaining and I can't wait to see how it comes out.
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Actual promo on ABC yesterday. "at 3:30 Florida State at Clemson, brought to you by Kay Jewelers, followed at 8:00 with Minnesota at Ohio State, brought to you by Wal-Mart." Trying to tell us something with the sponsors?
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I am enjoying this season of Amazing Race more than any I can remember. I am sure part of it is not dealing with that stupid Blind Date premise of the previous season. The primary reason is the casting of Justin and Diana. Justin is loud and obnoxious. He also is a huge fan of the show, smart and very, very good at this game. Watching other teams reactions to him and getting flustered at Justin's confidence. It's truly entertaining and I can't wait to see how it comes out.
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)
How does one describe the indescribable? This is not a logical film. I believe it to be a fever dream from the mind of a 13-year-old girl who is just discovering sexual urges. But that makes it sound much dirtier than it is.
What makes this such a unique achievement for director Jaromir Jires is that its main character is undoubtedly sexual in her thoughts, yet it never feels dirty. Instead, with its striking imagery and odd logic, it portrays fascination with erotic interest in a way I have never seen portrayed. Thanks to TCM for airing it. It is apparently hard to find, but hard to forget. Grade: A-
What makes this such a unique achievement for director Jaromir Jires is that its main character is undoubtedly sexual in her thoughts, yet it never feels dirty. Instead, with its striking imagery and odd logic, it portrays fascination with erotic interest in a way I have never seen portrayed. Thanks to TCM for airing it. It is apparently hard to find, but hard to forget. Grade: A-
Truth (2015)
This might seem a bit off topic, but I want to start by talking about my father. Here in Springfield OH, he has been a city commissioner since 1987 and was re-elected this week to his fourth four-year term as mayor. He was unopposed the last two times, and this year won re-election with 63% of the vote. He's been a pretty popular mayor. Yet the article about his election on the Springfield News-Sun website had comments such as these:
"Copeland, AGAIN? Please, someone put me out of my misery."
"What a shame. Springfield deserves better."
"CAN WE SAY TERM LIMITS?"
And this is for a popular politician.
There is a scene in Truth where the main character, Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) goes online and reads an ugly comments sections. The music swells, Mary gets emotional, and the words from the comments fill the screen. This is supposed to be one of the emotional moments of the film. My response was an eye-roll.
Seriously. This is a figure in news. There's a reason Honest Trailers in its Inside Out coverage referred to Anger, Fear and Disgust as "your average YouTube comments section". We are supposed to buy that a veteran news producer, who has been doing news work for years, who has just done what she knows is a story with political repercussions, is surprised by negative comments on the internet. Really?
I should be the target audience for Truth. I have an interest in journalism, and my political positions are liberal. Truth is about the CBS report in 2004 that George W. Bush went AWOL from his National Guard duties. Do I believe the story is basically true? You bet. Do I think the CBS team made journalistic errors in its report? That can also be true.
The film doesn't seem to get this. It is based on Mapes' book, and is completely on her side. The film seems to argue that sense the basic truth of the story is accurate that any errors can be forgiven.
This is a story that needs a subtle approach. Somehow I should have known that writer-director James Vanderbilt could not handle this. A writer with such quality scripts as Basic, Darkness Falls, and The Amazing Spider-Man was going to struggle with getting the story correct.
It's a darn shame. It's a fascinating story. The telling of it is always intriguing. The cast is incredible, not just Blanchett. Dan Rather, legend, is portrayed by Robert Redford, legend. Redford is able to carry himself with that amazing confidence that Rather has. I never minded that Redford doesn't quite look like Rather, because he got the attitude.
Two of the researchers, played by Topher Grace and Dennis Quaid, may the best thing in the film. Grace plays Mike Smith, the kind of guy who seems to see conspiracy everywhere. Quaid plays Roger Charles, a retired Lt. Colonel with a deep respect in the military. These two opposites earning each other's respect through hard work is the best part of the movie. Curiously, the third researcher, played by Elizabeth Moss, seems to disappear from the movie.
Ultimately, the film seems to exist as an indictment of how CBS News has become too beholden to its corporate interests to truly do its job. One problem with that conclusion: I already got that from The Insider, a great film.
This review comes out as a bit more negative as I meant. It is always watchable. But this is a topic which could have made a great film. It should have been a great film. Instead, it is merely watchable. It is a missed opportunity. Grade: C+
"Copeland, AGAIN? Please, someone put me out of my misery."
"What a shame. Springfield deserves better."
"CAN WE SAY TERM LIMITS?"
And this is for a popular politician.
There is a scene in Truth where the main character, Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) goes online and reads an ugly comments sections. The music swells, Mary gets emotional, and the words from the comments fill the screen. This is supposed to be one of the emotional moments of the film. My response was an eye-roll.
Seriously. This is a figure in news. There's a reason Honest Trailers in its Inside Out coverage referred to Anger, Fear and Disgust as "your average YouTube comments section". We are supposed to buy that a veteran news producer, who has been doing news work for years, who has just done what she knows is a story with political repercussions, is surprised by negative comments on the internet. Really?
I should be the target audience for Truth. I have an interest in journalism, and my political positions are liberal. Truth is about the CBS report in 2004 that George W. Bush went AWOL from his National Guard duties. Do I believe the story is basically true? You bet. Do I think the CBS team made journalistic errors in its report? That can also be true.
The film doesn't seem to get this. It is based on Mapes' book, and is completely on her side. The film seems to argue that sense the basic truth of the story is accurate that any errors can be forgiven.
This is a story that needs a subtle approach. Somehow I should have known that writer-director James Vanderbilt could not handle this. A writer with such quality scripts as Basic, Darkness Falls, and The Amazing Spider-Man was going to struggle with getting the story correct.
It's a darn shame. It's a fascinating story. The telling of it is always intriguing. The cast is incredible, not just Blanchett. Dan Rather, legend, is portrayed by Robert Redford, legend. Redford is able to carry himself with that amazing confidence that Rather has. I never minded that Redford doesn't quite look like Rather, because he got the attitude.
Two of the researchers, played by Topher Grace and Dennis Quaid, may the best thing in the film. Grace plays Mike Smith, the kind of guy who seems to see conspiracy everywhere. Quaid plays Roger Charles, a retired Lt. Colonel with a deep respect in the military. These two opposites earning each other's respect through hard work is the best part of the movie. Curiously, the third researcher, played by Elizabeth Moss, seems to disappear from the movie.
Ultimately, the film seems to exist as an indictment of how CBS News has become too beholden to its corporate interests to truly do its job. One problem with that conclusion: I already got that from The Insider, a great film.
This review comes out as a bit more negative as I meant. It is always watchable. But this is a topic which could have made a great film. It should have been a great film. Instead, it is merely watchable. It is a missed opportunity. Grade: C+
Saturday, October 31, 2015
100. Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)
We are currently in a time where the traditional biopic is fading. Lincoln (which just missed this list) started a change. You can learn more about some figures by examining one period closely rather than trying to get every event into one film. The recent Mandela biopic shows how the old formula just doesn't seem to work, while Selma (which is on this list) is one of the examples of how this can work.
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould takes a different approach. While trying to tell the story of reclusive pianist Glenn Gould, director Francois Girard tried, well, every approach.
Does this film get deep into what made Gould tick? No. I don't think that was possible. But what it does is give a sense of Gould as a performer. The multiple approaches and multiple points of view give a rounded sense of what it was like to be effected by him. Ultimately, the film makes this list by giving a sense of the effect music (through this musician) can have on us all.
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould takes a different approach. While trying to tell the story of reclusive pianist Glenn Gould, director Francois Girard tried, well, every approach.
Does this film get deep into what made Gould tick? No. I don't think that was possible. But what it does is give a sense of Gould as a performer. The multiple approaches and multiple points of view give a rounded sense of what it was like to be effected by him. Ultimately, the film makes this list by giving a sense of the effect music (through this musician) can have on us all.
The End of the Tour (2015)
I remember in 1981 when Siskel and Ebert went bananas for My Dinner With Andre. A movie about a dinner conversation! As a 13 year old, I did not know what to think. When I finally caught up with the film, I was bound to be disappointed. I probably wasn't the right age to connect with the film. I need to rewatch the film now that I am in my 40s. I probably will connect with the film a bit more.
Now here comes a film detailing a conversation over a few days between reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) and author David Foster Wallace (Jason Siegel). I've been reading how fascinating the conversation is between these two, and all I could think during the film was that neither of these guys were remotely as interesting as Andre Gregory. Or his dinner companion in My Dinner With Andre, Wallace Shawn.
The early portion of the film is in nearly recent time which establishes that Wallace committed suicide. Then the film goes back to the few days Lipsky spent with him in 1996 on a book tour. We hear repeatedly how amazing the book is. There is no evidence provided in the film of the author's brilliance. There is no evidence of how he ended up so despondent he took his life.
What we have is a guy who lives in Illinois and goes to Minnesota and is fascinated with what snobs would refer to as low culture. But there is no insight provided. So Wallace comes across as a fundamentally decent normal Midwestern guy. I live in Ohio. I have conversations with fundamentally decent normal Midwestern guys on a daily basis. Those conversations would not make for a movie either.
I cannot describe how bored I was watching this film. Nothing happens. Nothing is talked about. The most interesting thing is that they go to a movie at the Mall of America. (The movie is Broken Arrow.) And that's the film. This is the most overrated film of the year. Grade: D+
Now here comes a film detailing a conversation over a few days between reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) and author David Foster Wallace (Jason Siegel). I've been reading how fascinating the conversation is between these two, and all I could think during the film was that neither of these guys were remotely as interesting as Andre Gregory. Or his dinner companion in My Dinner With Andre, Wallace Shawn.
The early portion of the film is in nearly recent time which establishes that Wallace committed suicide. Then the film goes back to the few days Lipsky spent with him in 1996 on a book tour. We hear repeatedly how amazing the book is. There is no evidence provided in the film of the author's brilliance. There is no evidence of how he ended up so despondent he took his life.
What we have is a guy who lives in Illinois and goes to Minnesota and is fascinated with what snobs would refer to as low culture. But there is no insight provided. So Wallace comes across as a fundamentally decent normal Midwestern guy. I live in Ohio. I have conversations with fundamentally decent normal Midwestern guys on a daily basis. Those conversations would not make for a movie either.
I cannot describe how bored I was watching this film. Nothing happens. Nothing is talked about. The most interesting thing is that they go to a movie at the Mall of America. (The movie is Broken Arrow.) And that's the film. This is the most overrated film of the year. Grade: D+
Sunday, October 18, 2015
100 movies, 1990-2014
So why do this list? Limitations.
I have read other lists of best films of all time. But the reality is that I graduated from high school in 1986. While I am aware of many of the films of the time before my adulthood, I am aware of too many films before then that I have yet to see.
Meanwhile, my favorite book has printed its final edition. I have purchased Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide every year since 1984. The last year it published was 2015, covering films up to May 2014. So this was the time for me to proceed.
I first started with a list from my graduation date. Instead, I decided to use the nice round figure of 25 years. Hence, 1990 to 2014. I started putting this list together a year ago. I only just found out that Entertainment Weekly is celebrating its 25th anniversary. This is just a coincidence.
I plan to do a post for each movie as a countdown. The point is to one by one, cover and discuss 100 great recent movies. Of course, the ranking isn't critical. Even making the list anywhere means it is in my opinion a great film.
I have read other lists of best films of all time. But the reality is that I graduated from high school in 1986. While I am aware of many of the films of the time before my adulthood, I am aware of too many films before then that I have yet to see.
Meanwhile, my favorite book has printed its final edition. I have purchased Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide every year since 1984. The last year it published was 2015, covering films up to May 2014. So this was the time for me to proceed.
I first started with a list from my graduation date. Instead, I decided to use the nice round figure of 25 years. Hence, 1990 to 2014. I started putting this list together a year ago. I only just found out that Entertainment Weekly is celebrating its 25th anniversary. This is just a coincidence.
I plan to do a post for each movie as a countdown. The point is to one by one, cover and discuss 100 great recent movies. Of course, the ranking isn't critical. Even making the list anywhere means it is in my opinion a great film.
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