Monday, January 25, 2016
Wild
Based on the book which I read and reviewed previously. One who has
walked for a living and gone backpacking finds this gal's naïveté
incredible. As usual the movie needs must leave out much detail
included in the book or shows it in passing. Telling a story in
flashback rather than in narrative fashion seems to be the current
vogue. The star of the show is the Pacific Coast Trail and time plus
financial constraints limits the capture of the scenery in all its
moods particularly what must have been glorious sunrises and sunsets,
the stars at night, and moonscapes. In the end this movie is not
about the trail but the author's subjective journey. My Welsh friend
accuses her of being a whinger. This is the second movie in which
I've seen Laura Dorn portrait dying onscreen, she did so in October
Sky.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Prometheus
Prometheus,
the name of the God who brought men fire. Here the name of the ship
that transported a team of 17 to their doom. As the prequel to the
Aliens Series of Movies it would seem it is possible to do the movie
without Sigourney Weaver to play Ripley, there's an entirely new crew
here. As a science fiction horror movie this lacks the suspense and
intensity of the originals. We know pretty well what to expect. As a
metaphor for science over-reaching itself and bringing apocalypse
upon itself mission accomplished. For science fiction buffs a decent
time-waster but great film making.
Looper
The
attraction here is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The movie itself is violent
and somewhat difficult to follow. That Bruce Willis would be his
older self somewhat difficult to stomach. Set in a future where
scooters float through the air and time travel is possible but
banned. The movie is definitely “R” rated, most of the promos on
the DVD are execrable.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Fury
Movie
studios are getting more strident about promoting Blu-Ray. It would
seem obvious they'd prefer to convert everybody to a single format so
that they need produce only one version. Every disk has a promo for
the Blu-Ray version and the packaging here highlights the fact that
there are more supplements on the other format. Am I alone in finding
it ironic that at the same time one is offered a free download copy
of the movie one is also subjected to multiple screens warning
against that very practise. The number of previews that automatically
pop up before one gets to the feature seems endless and increasingly
it gets more difficult to bypass them. But enough carping about
packaging.
Brad
Pitt produced and starred in this film but he wisely left it to
someone else to direct. He's put on weight since the famous abs scene
in Thelma and Louise but the camera is at pains to show off that
though less defined they're still there. Pitt, of course, plays the
leader of this tank crew.
The
packaging again invokes Saving Private Ryan and Platoon in promoting
a film about a tank crew in the closing months of WW#2. The blood and
guts are graphic and we get to see them through the eyes of a raw
recruit played by Logan Lerman. Shia LaBoef who played Harrison
Ford's wise-cracking son in a recent Indiana Jones outing is barely
recognizable as a Bible quoting/hymn singing fanatic. Although this
is supposed to be an ensemble piece about the camaraderie of a 5-man
tank crew it is obviously Pitt's movie.
War
is hell but the message that a few men can make a difference and
never give up have rarely been made more plainly. Their tank is home
to these men and we join them even if we can't smell the gasoline and
exhaust. We may be armchair soldiers but the experience appears
realistic.
Thursday, January 07, 2016
Divergent
Having
just read the book as usual the movie is a disappointment. Not that
it's a particularly bad movie, but because of necessity it cuts so
much of the detail that made the book such a good read. Don't get me
wrong, Theo James as Tobias is handsome and Shalene Woodley as
Beatrice is impressive but so much of their interaction including
their romance is truncated in the movie. As usual certain scenes are
altered to move the plot along. No matter how good CGI and stunt
actors may be your imagination is always better. Mind you the ride
down the zip line is spine-chilling.
The
remainder of the crew are not as well cast and most of the other
initiatives play background roles.
Tuesday, January 05, 2016
Lone Survivor
I'm
uncomfortable with American Jingoism, Militarism, and Gun Culture.
I'd not feel safe holding a gun in my hand. I became aware of the
Vietnam Conflict growing up in Canada. In college I met scores of
draft dodgers and have since learned the folly of American
interference in the lives of the Indochinese. I have come to think
that George Bush sees the principal Weapon of Mass Destruction when
he looks in a mirror. Having failed to learn the lessons of History
America sent troops into Afghanistan and sucked Canadians and
Britains into the enterprise after Russian might failed miserably to
quell the situation.
The
families of young men who died in this conflict and those who
returned wounded in body and spirit cling to the hope that their
lives mattered and that they accomplished something positive with
their sacrifice.
The
training Navy Seals undergo is highlighted in the opening scenes of
this movie but it concentrates on the fire-fight the four-man team
loses against Taliban fighters who overwhelmingly outnumber them. The
conditioning these men have undergone tells as they continue fighting
after sustaining wounds the shock from which would have killed most
men long since. They fight on even while their bodies are dying.
Marcus Luttrell survived because an Afghan Village accorded him
sanctuary in a code held sacred in their Muslim heritage.
So
why did I watch the movie after reading the book? Whatever my
thoughts about the futility of the effort this is great film-making.
The special effects and stunt teams worked overtime. The young lad
who runs down a talus slope on a mountain to alert the Taliban
negotiates the terrain like a mountain goat. The firefight I suppose
is no more gruesome than the video games children routinely play
these days. In the end I continue to attempt to understand the mythos
that motivates young men to go to war and believe that killing is
justified.
This
movie is remarkably short on jargon but in typical military euphemism
Luttrell says, “Terminate the compromise” rather than kill their
hostages. In the end these men died because their rules of engagement
didn't cover their situation and their coms didn't allow them to get
authorization from a higher authority.
Nothing
here should be a spoiler for anyone who already read Luttrell's book
which I'd recommend. The fact that the other members of his team died
is implicit in the title, “Lone Survivor”.
Monday, January 04, 2016
'71
You aren't leaving Britain the young squaddies are told before they
are shipped off to Shankhill Road, Belfast, Northern Island during
“the troubles” in 1971. Not since Black Hawk Down has a soldier
trapped behind enemy lines faced such feral hatred. But here the
killing is done with steely eyed deliberate intent and the troops are
despised on all sides with banging garbage bin covers, rock throwing
children, exploding bombs, and guns stashed under floorboards.
Trapped behind enemy lines this soldier discovers there are no
friendly lines to cross to for safety and everyone is suspect
including his own troop commanders.
This movie is an unsettling experience which won critical acclaim for
the authenticity with which it captured tenor of the times. It places
you in that time and space with this lost soldier.
Mocking Jay Part One
First
off I would add my voice to those who decry the current trend for
movie studios to capitalize on a series' popularity by splitting
episodes in half as was this one. That said, I can't imagine this
movie being cut in half to make a single show 2 hours long. Secondly
I would thumb my nose at those who carp about spoilers. Having read
the book and knowing the plot lines in no sense takes away from one's
enjoyment of this movie else no one would ever bother to go see a
live performance of Shakespeare. The show's the thing and seeing how
the actors handle themselves is what it's all about. Thirdly I would
re-enter the Gale vs Petah debate on the side of Gale. To me Gale is
her true soulmate loving Katniss so deeply he is willing to risk his
life rescuing his rival to make her happy.
I
liked this movie even though nothing much actually happens. I would
argue that having read the book is essential to the enjoyment of the
show as so much back-story is left out to save time. In the end this
movie sets the stage for the battle royal we know is to come in Part
2. Books and movies are two entirely different genres and while books
tell, movies show, narration being a stop gap when nothing else will
serve. Actors speaking directly to an audience is normally reserved
for live theatre. Hence we are shown details only hinted at in the
book where the nature of President Snow's psychological warfare is
described.
Noah
Hollywood
does the Bible. The oral tradition that is the Old Testament
Pentateuch was not recorded on parchment until the time of King
David. Furthermore those writings were not intended as accurate
historical accounts but rather as didactic truths. Every major
civilization has a flood story, even here in North America.
My
first thought was Russell Crowe as a Biblical Patriarch? But why not,
Noah was not a saint, he was just less venal than his neighbours.
After that the show enters the realm of pure fantasy. Those fallen
angel rock critters? That wooden arc, could that monstrosity possibly
have floated and it in no way resembles a boat. The waters under the
earth spouting up as the waters above the earth rain down in godly
vengeance. Biblical, but few still believe the world is flat.
True
believers have prowled the Ararat Mountains for centuries looking for
remains of the Arc but even if there was any veracity to the myth
there's little chance that wooden remains would have survived in that
environment.
The
movie requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief. Does any
semblance of the Biblical intent remain intact?
