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Annihilation (2018)
Another Reason Not to Watch This Film
I join in those reviews critical of the film's fatal plot holes and general pretentiousness. The film's dedication to its tortured, existentialist mood leads to its most comical manifestation: the worst sex scene of all time.
I've never had an extramarital affair, but I would assume at least some bit of passion would motivate my betrayal. As we watch Portman adorn Isaac's head w/ the horns of the cuckhold, she appears no more engaged than if she was listening to an econ lecture. Her also-cheatin' paramour expressed even less pleasure in the act, if possible, and bore the hallmarks of being in a "waking" coma or being otherwise stunned and immobile. It is so ridiculous I began to suspect the director was trolling us.
The plot is wholly derivative and worn, the visuals nice but nothing special. Ludicrous sex scene. Stock ending. fin.
I imagine a combo of a psychological need to "get" "deep" movies and affinity for the director's earlier work and burgeoning reputation explains much of the movie's glowing reviews. Skip it if you haven't seen it yet.
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Can't Really Recommend It.
Not terrible, but I was a bit disappointed. It's a rental in my opinion. There are certainly a number of laugh-out-loud moments, but the general comedic momentum is not maintained well throughout. Robert Downey Jr. is excellent, and is really the only character who is consistently funny all through the film. Jack Black's character in the film w/in the film is great, w/ a constant stream of rapid-fire Vietnam War phrases which will delight those familiar with the lexicon. Overall, though, it's just too much start and stop w/ this movie, w/ fairly long, unfunny stretches between the clever stuff. Not as funny as Zoolander, which at times it tries to emulate.
The Mist (2007)
Ending Utterly Destroys the Enterprise
I read this novella, what, 20+ years ago, and its genius has never left me. I was thrilled to see it was to be made into a film. I didn't have the greatest expectations: monster movies are so difficult to pull off when the creatures must be featured so prominently. So I forgive some of the cheesy rubber looking beasts that invade our world as depicted in the film.
For most of the movie, I can say the sense of dread, foreboding, terror and helplessness is well maintained. And who can say how people would behave under such extraordinary stress and terror? That's part of the story's strength; you can't say the actions of the store patrons are not believable because you've no standard against which to measure it.
But, and I cannot state it any more plainly, the ending of the film is the absolute worst conceptual piece I have ever experienced. Not only is the emotional sledgehammer delivered in the final scene outrageous, the "tragic" formula, ironically, requires the assumption of the most ridiculous premises imaginable, far worse than anything else in the film. Are we really to buy off on the idea that they left the store at the exact time that would lead them to run out of gas on the exact road on the exact spot that if they had left 90 seconds later or chatted about what they were about to do a couple of minutes they would've been saved by an armed force suddenly and inexplicably able to exterminate the millions of killer-saurs that flooded thorough the dimension breach? Was it some kind of joke? Was it, "You'd never buy off on them making it to safety, so take a bite off this!"???? It seemed like a cheap trick a Jr. high kid would try to pull off.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am the father of small children, and the final scene in the truck, with all its implications, is not of the kind to be undertaken so flippantly. I might have given this film 7 or more stars if Thomas Jane had simply raged into the mist to end it. The director's choice of closing is so callously conceived and preposterously delivered it completely ruined an otherwise fine horror movie.
Beowulf (2007)
Butchered one of the Great Works of Western Literature
I don't quite understand what it is about purveyors of work such as this that leaves them w/ the impression that, through gross distortion of original source material, they can convey something more resonating than a 1000+ y.o. masterpiece of literature. Is there a self-loathing in them so great that they are unable to celebrate even the possibility of goodness in man so powerfully depicted in the ancient poem? While you might be able to paint the poem's hero as overly pleased w/ his feats, his portrayal as a venal dissembler is an atrocity which destroys this film. Others here have very well documented the heavy-handed, wearisome creep of "political correctness" and emasculation into the film ("I said no and meant no"--gracious)so I'll spare great detail. Just know this is a tragically missed opportunity to dedicate a large studio budget toward bringing to life one of the great stories of all time. I agree w/ the poster who hopes another, wiser, director will give it another chance.
I still gave it a 2, as some of the technical mastery in the visual presentation must be acknowledged.
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Bale Gives One of the Greatest Child Performances
I didn't see this film in theaters when it came out in '87-88. I saw it on video soon after and immediately regretted passing it up on the big screen. It is a beautifully shot, evocative war film that portrays a WWII story with which most are not familiar. We don't often think of civilians caught in colonial lands when we recount WWII experiences, and this film manages to convey that story and combine it with a coming of age journey for a privileged young British boy separated from his parents in the chaos as Shanghai (I think--it could be another Chinese city)fell to the Japanese.
Christian Bale is having a fine career as an actor, but from the first time I saw this film I knew two things: Bale's turn in this movie may be the best by a child, ever, and, second, I was instantly an admirer, and knew his would be a career to watch. His transformation from pampered brat to wily survivor is utterly convincing, and often heartbreaking as he confronts the challenges of early adolescence w/out his parents, and in so desolate a place and time. His surrounding cast is also excellent; John Malkovich gives one of his best performances, and the British camp inmates are, as the Brits so often are, superb in their craft.
The storytelling is also masterful, managing to imbue the story w/ enough humorous relief to keep it from swamping itself in the tragedy of its setting. At times visually stunning, it contains scenes w/ Spielberg at his best, such as the slo-mo fly-by of the American pilot, waving at eye level to Bale standing on the roof of one of the camp's buildings, or the horizon-line night shot of the bombing of faraway docks.
I have been espousing the virtues of this film for close to 20 years, and I still don't think I can name 10 people I know who've seen it. It is a treasure of American Cinema, in my opinion, and I hope in some way Bale's superstar success with the Batman franchise may re-awaken film lovers to this title, and introduce it to a new generation.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Last Nail in the Coffin for the IMDb Top 250 List Credibility
The idea that this film is one of the top 250 of all time (let alone top 25!) is preposterous. This is the first review I've submitted, and I do so because I feel compelled to express my outrage that a movie such as this could garner such a high rating, and may by itself destroy whatever credibility the "250" list may have retained.
Count me in the "Emperor Has No Clothes" crowd. Look, I loved "Boogie Nights" as much as anyone. It was a masterpiece, a work of genius. Nostalgia for that film is the only reasonable explanation I can construct to understand why so many have rated "Blood" so highly.
Daniel Day-Lewis gives a fine performance, yes, but what else is new? Though well-acted, I found his character simple and uninteresting. I am stunned by those who seem to regard Plainview as a new and terrifying character, a soulless messenger of a new evil (I chuckled when the goat-ranching rube whom Plainview aims to exploit introduces himself as "Abel")"No Country For Old Men" and J. Bardem covered that territory far more effectively. Plainview seemed like a pretty straightforward sociopath to me.
Paul Dano, who I think is a fine actor, is terribly miscast as the evangelical preacher. He lacks the charisma and presence to credibly portray a charlatan. He was shrieky, and bizarre, not smooth, charming,confident, or anything else that suckers people into falling for scams. He was utterly unbelievable in his role, and it was too large a part to make such a mistake, set, as it was, against the furnace that is Daniel Day-lewis.
Which leads me to the kid who played Plainview's adopted son for the greater part of the film. I am loath to criticize a child, but I can only assume this boy had the "look" as a prop desired by the director, b/c he displayed no ability as an actor. When called upon for dialog, his stilted performance is painful to behold. I cannot believe there wasn't another kid who could've hit his cues more effectively, more naturally.
I actually found the ending one of the few interesting, thought provoking aspects of the film, but by then it was far too late to breathe life into the bloated behemoth that had strewn itself out on the screen the previous 2+ hours.