Depending on my mood, either this or Dr. Strangelove is my favorite movie of all time. Having just picked up the new, expanded Criterion version,(and all it's attending extras) I'm listing 'Seven Samurai' as my favorite. (for now...)
There are no emotionally complex characters-odd for Kurosawa. There's no deep moral theme running through it. On the surface, we've all seen this type of 'Guys-on-a-mission' type movie before, right? But this is the one that created that whole sub-genre. If I were a pretentious twerp, I'd be inclined to tie this movie in to Kurosawa's Dostoevsky influence. You know, fate and redemption. Trouble is, only Mifune's 'outsider' samurai is the only one that even remotely fits the bill here. No, what we got here, theme-wise, is that Japanese proverb, "The nail that stands out get hammered down." The samurai fight for the peasants because it's what their class is supposed to do. (The lead samurai's speech about 'testing ourselves in battle' rings a little hollow.) Note how at the end, the romance between the youngest samurai and the peasant girl is abruptly cut off once the village is saved.
In classic Kurosawa form, every detail is fully realized, and every blast of wind and drop of rain is there for a reason. Notice how the wind always comes up at moments of tension. The final climactic battle is set in a thunderstorm, churning up the ground into a muddy soup. The more I watch this movie, the more little details accumulate. I particularly love the scene where Toshiro Mifune tries to convince the others that he's from an actual samurai family, bringing in a tattered family scroll to bolster his claim. The leader points out both Mufune's lie and his illiteracy by bringing up the fact that the name Mufune claims as his belongs to a 13-year old. In the back we see one of the other samurai counting out the years on the scroll on his fingers, then laughing as he gets the joke at the same time the leader informs Mufune of his error.
And his editing, my God, has never been better. The first we see of the lead Samurai, played by Takashi Shimura, he is shaving his head to disguise himself as a monk. (If you wonder at the overly startled reactions of the surrounding villagers to this, bear in mind that a samurai's topknot was his badge of status. Losing it was equal to pooing one's pants in public...) He's disguising himself to draw out a thief that's kidnapped a little boy. Throwing in some food to the thief's hideout to distract him, he rushes in, there's an offscreen struggle, and then, in slow motion, the thief staggers out, the gathered crowd reacts,(in normal speed) then the thief drops dead, a cloud of dust emerging from the corpse. This technique shows up again in the fatal duel between the master swordsman(Seiji Miyaguchi) and a hot-headed samurai. I suspect it's the first time this slowed-down camera at the time of death gag's been used in cinema, and here, it's so effective. I should also point out that this is the first action movie to give us the 'reluctant hero' plot point. There's probably a bunch of other 'firsts' for this movie, but I'll find 'em later.
In closing, if this DVD isn't in your library, you suck.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
A Brief Interlude...
...Let me just quickly interrupt my top ten film list here...
Over the Hedge- Dreamworks' CG animation offerings are formulaic to the point of tedium. They seem to have one story template that they use over and over again. Here's the template: Disparate group of anthromorphic beings go to a unique environment where their unity as a group is tested. During this ordeal, there will be a montage of the creatures either A) wandering sadly through the environment while a current MOR top 40 band plays a subdued melody, or B) working together to achieve a common goal while a current MOR Top 40 band plays an upbeat melody. The group will always have a 'sassy', urban-type female, and a hyper-ADD afflicted 'Nerdy' character. Two-thirds into the movie, the lead character will monologue about how his doubt or his hubris has let the other members of the group down. His confidence will be restored by another monologue by his love interest or best friend. The final message is always, "Friends and Family are the most important thing, ever." At least half the voices of the main characters will be by A-level movie stars, which simultaneously proves that Dreamworks hasn't got much confidence in these movies in the first place, and that Bruce Willis, Woody Allen, Cameron Diaz and Will Smith's voice-over work tend to flatten out their performances.
Over the Hedge continues that bland tradition. A group of disparate woodland creatures awake from hibernation to find their sylvan home is now smack dab in the middle of suburbia. A cocky raccoon, voiced by Bruce Willis, sells them on the easy pickin's in suburban garbage cans, thus assuaging their fears over a steady food supply. Turns out the raccoon is using the other creatures to gather food for him so he can pay back a mean bear (voiced by Nick Nolte) whose food supply the raccoon demolished. When the animals are captured by a psychotic exterminator and a monomanical home owner, the raccoon has a change of heart and rescues them, thus learning that "Friends and Family are yadda yadda."
I'm setting all this up because Over the Hedge has one gag which has to be the funniest thing that I've seen this year in a movie. The aforementioned ADD-Nerd character in this case is a squirrel named Hammy voiced by Steve Catrell in a standout performance. (Spoiler alert) During the movie, a minor running gag is that given his twitchy, nervous personality, caffeine-laden drinks would be the last thing Hammy should partake in from the bounty of food the animals are stealing. When the raccoon rescues the other animals from their capture by the exterminator, they are stuck in the hedge between their forest home and the aforementioned homeowners' lawn. On one side is the now-angered bear, and on the other side stands the exterminator and the homeowner, both parties intent on destroying the woodland creatures. The raccoon and the leader of the animals, a turtle voiced by Gerry Shandling, bemoan their fate and wish for more time to resolve their dilemma. (At that point, fireflies light up over their heads.) They give Hammy a full dose of hyper-caffeinated soda, and he saves the day.
What sends this gag over the moon is it's reversal of expectations. We expect to see a hyper-cut montage of the squirrel frantically running about, subduing the bear, the exterminator, and the homeowner in the space of a few seconds. What the movie gives us is a slow, leisurely display of Hammy's altered perceptions in his hyper-caffeinated state. Time stops while he casually trots to the semi-lethal animal trap on the owners' lawn, sets it off, non-chalantly sets up a cage trap next to the bad guys, and makes a detour to grab a cookie on top of the homeowners' house. ("Hm-mm...I gots a cookie") While Hammy is doing all this, the lasers on the lawn move at a snail's pace. (End spoilers)
I was laughing so hard, I almost passed out. (My diaphram still hurts.) The comic saint Michael O'Donoghue pointed out that great comedy jumps a step, and that's exactly what happens here. It's unfortunate the rest of the movie doesn't match up to that scene, but having my lowered expectations surpassed is part of why I was laughing so heavily.
Over the Hedge- Dreamworks' CG animation offerings are formulaic to the point of tedium. They seem to have one story template that they use over and over again. Here's the template: Disparate group of anthromorphic beings go to a unique environment where their unity as a group is tested. During this ordeal, there will be a montage of the creatures either A) wandering sadly through the environment while a current MOR top 40 band plays a subdued melody, or B) working together to achieve a common goal while a current MOR Top 40 band plays an upbeat melody. The group will always have a 'sassy', urban-type female, and a hyper-ADD afflicted 'Nerdy' character. Two-thirds into the movie, the lead character will monologue about how his doubt or his hubris has let the other members of the group down. His confidence will be restored by another monologue by his love interest or best friend. The final message is always, "Friends and Family are the most important thing, ever." At least half the voices of the main characters will be by A-level movie stars, which simultaneously proves that Dreamworks hasn't got much confidence in these movies in the first place, and that Bruce Willis, Woody Allen, Cameron Diaz and Will Smith's voice-over work tend to flatten out their performances.
Over the Hedge continues that bland tradition. A group of disparate woodland creatures awake from hibernation to find their sylvan home is now smack dab in the middle of suburbia. A cocky raccoon, voiced by Bruce Willis, sells them on the easy pickin's in suburban garbage cans, thus assuaging their fears over a steady food supply. Turns out the raccoon is using the other creatures to gather food for him so he can pay back a mean bear (voiced by Nick Nolte) whose food supply the raccoon demolished. When the animals are captured by a psychotic exterminator and a monomanical home owner, the raccoon has a change of heart and rescues them, thus learning that "Friends and Family are yadda yadda."
I'm setting all this up because Over the Hedge has one gag which has to be the funniest thing that I've seen this year in a movie. The aforementioned ADD-Nerd character in this case is a squirrel named Hammy voiced by Steve Catrell in a standout performance. (Spoiler alert) During the movie, a minor running gag is that given his twitchy, nervous personality, caffeine-laden drinks would be the last thing Hammy should partake in from the bounty of food the animals are stealing. When the raccoon rescues the other animals from their capture by the exterminator, they are stuck in the hedge between their forest home and the aforementioned homeowners' lawn. On one side is the now-angered bear, and on the other side stands the exterminator and the homeowner, both parties intent on destroying the woodland creatures. The raccoon and the leader of the animals, a turtle voiced by Gerry Shandling, bemoan their fate and wish for more time to resolve their dilemma. (At that point, fireflies light up over their heads.) They give Hammy a full dose of hyper-caffeinated soda, and he saves the day.
What sends this gag over the moon is it's reversal of expectations. We expect to see a hyper-cut montage of the squirrel frantically running about, subduing the bear, the exterminator, and the homeowner in the space of a few seconds. What the movie gives us is a slow, leisurely display of Hammy's altered perceptions in his hyper-caffeinated state. Time stops while he casually trots to the semi-lethal animal trap on the owners' lawn, sets it off, non-chalantly sets up a cage trap next to the bad guys, and makes a detour to grab a cookie on top of the homeowners' house. ("Hm-mm...I gots a cookie") While Hammy is doing all this, the lasers on the lawn move at a snail's pace. (End spoilers)
I was laughing so hard, I almost passed out. (My diaphram still hurts.) The comic saint Michael O'Donoghue pointed out that great comedy jumps a step, and that's exactly what happens here. It's unfortunate the rest of the movie doesn't match up to that scene, but having my lowered expectations surpassed is part of why I was laughing so heavily.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
My Favorite Movies of All Time- Part One
Okay, let's get this done...
Dr. Strangelove- It's been said that there's two types of satire: satire from the outside and satire from the inside. Satire from the outside condemns the priest for teaching a false religion. Satire from the inside condemns the priest for not following the teachings of his religion. Or, to be more succinct, Dr. Strangelove is a movie about how the guardians of democracy are infantile madmen; while the movie, "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying"(released at about the same time) is about how them ad execs really like their coffee breaks.
I'm not one to critique a movie like an olympic judge, but to my mind, Dr. StrangeLove is about the most successful example of black comedy in film that I've ever seen. Other examples of black comedy like Fight Club or Wag the Dog tend to lose their nerve most of the way through the picture. My understanding is that Kubrick was preparing to direct a straight adaptation of the novel, "Fail-Safe". In the course of his usual through research, he found that U.S. foreign policy involving nuclear deterrence was more absurd than an Alfred Jarry play. "Mutually Assured Destruction", anyone? So he then got the help of master comic writer Terry Southern to work with him on the screenplay.
The tone of the movie is of a mouth contorted into a rictus grin, small beads of sweat appearing on the upper lip. Every part is played straight, with no broad comic strokes whatsoever. (Well, George C. Scott plays his role of the overenthusiatic general pretty broad, but, C'mon. It's George C. Scott!) Peter Sellers, the master of sinking into a role, handles three different parts with aplomb. He's ineffectual President of the United States, Merkin Muffey,(note the effeminate name) Group RAF Captain Lionel Mandrake, the voice of reason to the insane General Jack D. Ripper, and what is to me possibly the most absurd character ever to appear in film, the Dr. Strangelove of the title. Reportedly, he was also pegged to play the B-52 group commander, Major Kong.
Notice the character of General Jack D. Ripper(Sterling Hayden), the insane head of the air force base that orders his bombers to attack Russia. He's not your stock madman. He doesn't rant and rave at the top of his voice. His tone throught the whole movie is one of calm, ordered, well-thought out logic. His rationale for beginning the attack makes sense, if you're a right-wing paranoid. It's only when he reveals his abhorrence for floride treatments in water (actually, there's a reasonable rationale for being opposed to floridation, but I'm not going to go into it here...) that we (and Captain Mandrake) realize that Ripper's gone off the deep end a long time ago:
General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Lord, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: I... no, no. I don't, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen, tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first... become... well, develop this theory?
General Jack D. Ripper: Well, I, uh... I... I... first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue... a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I... I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh... women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I, uh... I do not avoid women, Mandrake.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: No.
General Jack D. Ripper: But I... I do deny them my essence.
And there's Peter Sellers' President Merkin Muffey (such a great name!) His monologue with the drunken Russian Premier is like a Bob Newhart sketch:
President Merkin Muffley: [to Kissoff] Hello?... Uh... Hello D- uh hello Dmitri? Listen uh uh I can't hear too well. Do you suppose you could turn the music down just a little?... Oh-ho, that's much better... yeah... huh... yes... Fine, I can hear you now, Dmitri... Clear and plain and coming through fine... I'm coming through fine, too, eh?... Good, then... well, then, as you say, we're both coming through fine... Good... Well, it's good that you're fine and... and I'm fine... I agree with you, it's great to be fine... a-ha-ha-ha-ha... Now then, Dmitri, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the Bomb... The *Bomb*, Dmitri... The *hydrogen* bomb!... Well now, what happened is... ahm... one of our base commanders, he had a sort of... well, he went a little funny in the head... you know... just a little... funny. And, ah... he went and did a silly thing... Well, I'll tell you what he did. He ordered his planes... to attack your country... Ah... Well, let me finish, Dmitri... Let me finish, Dmitri... Well listen, how do you think I feel about it?... Can you *imagine* how I feel about it, Dmitri?... Why do you think I'm calling you? Just to say hello?... *Of course* I like to speak to you!... *Of course* I like to say hello!... Not now, but anytime, Dmitri. I'm just calling up to tell you something terrible has happened... It's a *friendly* call. Of course it's a friendly call... Listen, if it wasn't friendly... you probably wouldn't have even got it... They will *not* reach their targets for at least another hour... I am... I am positive, Dmitri... Listen, I've been all over this with your ambassador. It is not a trick... Well, I'll tell you. We'd like to give your air staff a complete run-down on the targets, the flight plans, and the defensive systems of the planes... Yes! I mean i-i-i-if we're unable to recall the planes, then... I'd say that, ah... well, ah... we're just gonna have to help you destroy them, Dmitri... I know they're our boys... All right, well listen now. Who should we call?... *Who* should we call, Dmitri? The... wha-whe, the People... you, sorry, you faded away there... The People's Central Air Defense Headquarters... Where is that, Dmitri?... In Omsk... Right... Yes... Oh, you'll call them first, will you?... Uh-huh... Listen, do you happen to have the phone number on you, Dmitri?... Whe-ah, what? I see, just ask for Omsk information... Ah-ah-eh-uhm-hm... I'm sorry, too, Dmitri... I'm very sorry... *All right*, you're sorrier than I am, but I am as sorry as well... I am as sorry as you are, Dmitri! Don't say that you're more sorry than I am, because I'm capable of being just as sorry as you are... So we're both sorry, all right?... All right...
The film itself is Kubrick at the height of his powers. His bone-dry wit, his sly little gags, (note how General Turgidson's 'secretary' is the Playboy Centerfold that one of the B-52 crew ogles on duty. 'Peace is our Profession' on a sign in the besiged air force base, looking over several dead soldiers, "Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, THIS is the WAR ROOM"...) his deadpan camera shots. It's unfortunate how Kubrick's later work ossified these skills of his into empty technique, but for this movie and the earlier 'Lolita', they served the subject matter well.
Dr. Strangelove- It's been said that there's two types of satire: satire from the outside and satire from the inside. Satire from the outside condemns the priest for teaching a false religion. Satire from the inside condemns the priest for not following the teachings of his religion. Or, to be more succinct, Dr. Strangelove is a movie about how the guardians of democracy are infantile madmen; while the movie, "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying"(released at about the same time) is about how them ad execs really like their coffee breaks.
I'm not one to critique a movie like an olympic judge, but to my mind, Dr. StrangeLove is about the most successful example of black comedy in film that I've ever seen. Other examples of black comedy like Fight Club or Wag the Dog tend to lose their nerve most of the way through the picture. My understanding is that Kubrick was preparing to direct a straight adaptation of the novel, "Fail-Safe". In the course of his usual through research, he found that U.S. foreign policy involving nuclear deterrence was more absurd than an Alfred Jarry play. "Mutually Assured Destruction", anyone? So he then got the help of master comic writer Terry Southern to work with him on the screenplay.
The tone of the movie is of a mouth contorted into a rictus grin, small beads of sweat appearing on the upper lip. Every part is played straight, with no broad comic strokes whatsoever. (Well, George C. Scott plays his role of the overenthusiatic general pretty broad, but, C'mon. It's George C. Scott!) Peter Sellers, the master of sinking into a role, handles three different parts with aplomb. He's ineffectual President of the United States, Merkin Muffey,(note the effeminate name) Group RAF Captain Lionel Mandrake, the voice of reason to the insane General Jack D. Ripper, and what is to me possibly the most absurd character ever to appear in film, the Dr. Strangelove of the title. Reportedly, he was also pegged to play the B-52 group commander, Major Kong.
Notice the character of General Jack D. Ripper(Sterling Hayden), the insane head of the air force base that orders his bombers to attack Russia. He's not your stock madman. He doesn't rant and rave at the top of his voice. His tone throught the whole movie is one of calm, ordered, well-thought out logic. His rationale for beginning the attack makes sense, if you're a right-wing paranoid. It's only when he reveals his abhorrence for floride treatments in water (actually, there's a reasonable rationale for being opposed to floridation, but I'm not going to go into it here...) that we (and Captain Mandrake) realize that Ripper's gone off the deep end a long time ago:
General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Lord, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: I... no, no. I don't, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen, tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first... become... well, develop this theory?
General Jack D. Ripper: Well, I, uh... I... I... first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue... a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I... I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh... women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I, uh... I do not avoid women, Mandrake.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: No.
General Jack D. Ripper: But I... I do deny them my essence.
And there's Peter Sellers' President Merkin Muffey (such a great name!) His monologue with the drunken Russian Premier is like a Bob Newhart sketch:
President Merkin Muffley: [to Kissoff] Hello?... Uh... Hello D- uh hello Dmitri? Listen uh uh I can't hear too well. Do you suppose you could turn the music down just a little?... Oh-ho, that's much better... yeah... huh... yes... Fine, I can hear you now, Dmitri... Clear and plain and coming through fine... I'm coming through fine, too, eh?... Good, then... well, then, as you say, we're both coming through fine... Good... Well, it's good that you're fine and... and I'm fine... I agree with you, it's great to be fine... a-ha-ha-ha-ha... Now then, Dmitri, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the Bomb... The *Bomb*, Dmitri... The *hydrogen* bomb!... Well now, what happened is... ahm... one of our base commanders, he had a sort of... well, he went a little funny in the head... you know... just a little... funny. And, ah... he went and did a silly thing... Well, I'll tell you what he did. He ordered his planes... to attack your country... Ah... Well, let me finish, Dmitri... Let me finish, Dmitri... Well listen, how do you think I feel about it?... Can you *imagine* how I feel about it, Dmitri?... Why do you think I'm calling you? Just to say hello?... *Of course* I like to speak to you!... *Of course* I like to say hello!... Not now, but anytime, Dmitri. I'm just calling up to tell you something terrible has happened... It's a *friendly* call. Of course it's a friendly call... Listen, if it wasn't friendly... you probably wouldn't have even got it... They will *not* reach their targets for at least another hour... I am... I am positive, Dmitri... Listen, I've been all over this with your ambassador. It is not a trick... Well, I'll tell you. We'd like to give your air staff a complete run-down on the targets, the flight plans, and the defensive systems of the planes... Yes! I mean i-i-i-if we're unable to recall the planes, then... I'd say that, ah... well, ah... we're just gonna have to help you destroy them, Dmitri... I know they're our boys... All right, well listen now. Who should we call?... *Who* should we call, Dmitri? The... wha-whe, the People... you, sorry, you faded away there... The People's Central Air Defense Headquarters... Where is that, Dmitri?... In Omsk... Right... Yes... Oh, you'll call them first, will you?... Uh-huh... Listen, do you happen to have the phone number on you, Dmitri?... Whe-ah, what? I see, just ask for Omsk information... Ah-ah-eh-uhm-hm... I'm sorry, too, Dmitri... I'm very sorry... *All right*, you're sorrier than I am, but I am as sorry as well... I am as sorry as you are, Dmitri! Don't say that you're more sorry than I am, because I'm capable of being just as sorry as you are... So we're both sorry, all right?... All right...
The film itself is Kubrick at the height of his powers. His bone-dry wit, his sly little gags, (note how General Turgidson's 'secretary' is the Playboy Centerfold that one of the B-52 crew ogles on duty. 'Peace is our Profession' on a sign in the besiged air force base, looking over several dead soldiers, "Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, THIS is the WAR ROOM"...) his deadpan camera shots. It's unfortunate how Kubrick's later work ossified these skills of his into empty technique, but for this movie and the earlier 'Lolita', they served the subject matter well.
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
A Couple of Misfires...
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift- Nnnggh... It's amazing how much Tokyo resembles Southern Los Angeles, isn't it? I'm comparing this franchise to the porn movie franchise, since they both drop in the story as an afterthought to why people are REALLY watching these type of movies. However, the race scenes in this case disappoint since the way they're set up don't build any tension or release in the audience. As a travelogue to an exotic land, it falls apart as well, since it was pretty much filmed in L.A., and you don't get any sense of dislocation. (The only idea we get the lead is in a foreign country is a brief bit where he doesn't understand Japanese for 'slippers'.) My Japanese-Canadian roommate also informs me that: 1) Japanese classrooms don't have cafeterias, 2) Non-native speakers don't take school classes with everyone else, 3) Not every Japanese native speaks fluent English, 4) The lead character's Navy officer dad couldn't possibly afford to live in Tokyo on what he makes, 5) and so on...
Lucky Number Sleven- For this type of 'Thriller-with-a-twist' to be successful, you can't see the twist coming in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. Also, Josh Harnett seems incredibly miscast. He's one of the most inexpressive actors this side of Steven Segall. We need to feel the character's mounting tension to draw us in, and he doesn't do it. Also, if you're going to cast powerhouses like Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman, give 'em something to do besides monologue behind a desk. And finally, is it just me, or is Bruce Willis starting to turn into Christopher Walken?
Coming up... An exceedingly anal list of my top ten (well, thirteen) movies of all time, and why... (list subject to change)
Lucky Number Sleven- For this type of 'Thriller-with-a-twist' to be successful, you can't see the twist coming in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. Also, Josh Harnett seems incredibly miscast. He's one of the most inexpressive actors this side of Steven Segall. We need to feel the character's mounting tension to draw us in, and he doesn't do it. Also, if you're going to cast powerhouses like Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman, give 'em something to do besides monologue behind a desk. And finally, is it just me, or is Bruce Willis starting to turn into Christopher Walken?
Coming up... An exceedingly anal list of my top ten (well, thirteen) movies of all time, and why... (list subject to change)
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Happy Birthday, Jody!
Just a quick shout-out to my brother, Jody. He was born 32(?) years ago on this very day.
Have a good one, bud.
Have a good one, bud.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
On South Park...
South Park- It's been my favorite comedy show for the past few years, and I was getting ready to write this as an ode to its many joys. Then season ten was broadcast, and it occurred to me how much South Park has matured, and not always for the better. Outside of the two-parter 'family guy' episodes and the 'dog-whisperer' one, so far season ten's been its most uneven. Let me run down a brief history of its development as a series.
The first few seasons of South Park were crude, (in both writing and execution) and relied on fart humor and non-sequitur jokes to fill space. (Robert Smith of the Cure? Why?) In the course of the series, they grew in skill and depth. Cartman's character stood out for me as an embodiment of all that was evil. And of course, hilarious. There were no depths that to which he would not sink. (faking his hand as a younger, sassier version of Jennifer Lopez, tricking an older kid into eating his parents, organizing fans of that fuckin' Mel Gibson S-and-M Jesus movie into Neo-Nazis, obtaining fetuses so he could have his own Shakey's pizza restaurant, the list goes on...) Trey Parker and Matt Stone learned to strip off the jokes that didn't work (killing Kenny got old real quick) and their comedic timing became impeccable. One aspect of their production became invaluable to them. Owing to the quick turnaround time(a week) of producing their show, they could comment on current events almost immediately, an impossibility in more traditional animated shows like the Simpsons.
It turns out that Parker and Stone's need to comment on current events is starting to become a liability as much as an asset these days. Consider the episode where Cartman merges, Tetuso-from-the-anime-Akira-like into his Trapper Keeper. The subplot was over a row in kindergarten regarding the election of a class president. This was run at about the time of the first presidential election of the Usurper, and was meant as a commentary of the colossal fuckup at the poll booths in Florida. (The undecided vote in the classroom is a little girl named Flora.) The thing is, unless you have a vested interest in the politics of 2000, the subplot slows down the show. In five years, anyone who watches the episode where Kenny's body is in a coma while Cartman fights the other boys to turn off Kenny's life support so Kenny won't be in an undead limbo,(actually, it's to get his PSP-this is Cartman, remember) won't instantly make the connection to the Terri Schalvo case. And even more recently, in series 10, the story of the hapless Towelie's attempt to break into the publishing world mirrors the scandal of James Frey's misleading drug rehab memoirs. Remember? No? The ground is practically disappearing under Parker and Stone's feet...
Which brings me to another beef I have with the show. Parker and Stone's politics could be described as 'Libertarian-lite' That is, they're fundamentally conservative with a liberal outlook on social issues. Their point of view in these post-liberal times is that if we can all agree to split the difference, we'd all get along much better. The problem is, liberals and conservatives these days consider each other's side as an outright betrayal of America itself. Right now, it seems like Parker and Stone are more into pushing buttons, especially liberal ones, than having anything relevant to say. They've got a bug up their ass especially with global warming. (They don't believe it exists.) You can argue that the media is blowing the concern for global warming out of proportion. You can't argue that global warming doesn't exist. In five years, I'll be sure to head down to the flooded Los Angeles basin on my jet-ski. When I find Parker and Stone floating on their raft over what used to be Santa Monica Boulevard and drinking their urine, I'll tell 'em, "TOOOLLLLD YOOOOOU SOOOOO!" When you start using your cartoon show as a format to grind your various axes, you wind up alienating your audience, especially since they came in expecting to be entertained.
Nonetheless, It's contained some of the funniest moments that I've ever seen in my life on television, and because this seems like the fan-boy thing to do, here's a list of my personal top-ten favorites: (in no particular order...)
"A Woodland Critter Christmas"- In the ultimate piss-take of every generic, sentimental, cloying, Rankin-Bass Christmas special, Stan discovers a gaggle of adorable woodland creatures straight out of Central Casting preparing for the birth of the savior of all woodland critters. Stan gets reluctantly charged with the task of slaying an 'evil' mountain lion trying to kill the porcupine mother. After completing his mission, he discovers the critters are devil-worshipers, and the mountain lion was good. When he tries to stop the Anti-Christ from coming into being, he finds the critters have taken Kyle as a host for the spawn of Satan. They defeat the critters, with some help from Santa Claus, and it turns out the whole story was a tale told by Cartman during their school class' storytime period. It was also yet another excuse for Cartman to rip on Kyle for being Jewish. "And everyone lived happily ever after! -except for Kyle, who died of AIDS, two weeks later!" "Goddamm you, Cartman!!"
"Trapped in the Closet"-It's easy to see why Scientologists hate this episode.(Stan takes an e-reading and is discovered to be the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard.) If you got the full news up front, you'd get your money back, A.S.A.P. Also, I've never been too fond of Tom Cruise as an actor, myself. He's essentially played one stock character his entire career (smug asshole getting his comeuppance) and his recent firing of his publicist in favor of his Scientologist sister was a bad move. The best form of satire, it seems, is to just let the facts speak for themselves.
"Casa Bonita"-Cartman goes to psychopathic lengths to prevent Butters from attending Kyle's birthday party at a popular family restaurant in Denver. It seems Kyle has finally wised up to Cartman's behavior and attempted to disassociate himself from Cartman. Eventually, Kyle relents and gives Cartman the caveat that if Butters can't attend, Cartman can take his place in the party. Naturally, this sets off the chain of events involving Cartman trying to remove Butters from the picture. You can imagine Parker and Stone setting up the scenario; "Well, so he can't actually KILL Butters, but anything else is fair game!"
"Scott Tenorman must Die!"-The first episode that illustrated the true depths to which the depraved Cartman would sink. After teenager Scott Tenorman sells Cartman his pubic hair,(since Cartman is too naive to understand one grows ones own 'pubes', Cartman feels that owning pubic hair, even someone else's, is a sign of maturity) Cartman spends the entire episode trying to exact a cartoon-cat-and-mouse revenge on the older boy. Things take a twist into the Grand Guiginol when Cartman feeds Scott his own dead parents in a chili cook-off.
"Butter's very own Episode" -If Cartman is my favorite character, then Butters is my second favorite. He's the yin to Cartman's yang, as it were. Naive, good-hearted, considerate, obedient. In the world of South Park, he hasn't got a chance. It seems everyone knew a kid like this in school. He's the kid who gets sent to the principal's office simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This episode has poor Butters trying to return home after his mom fails a murder attempt on his life. Seem's Butter's dad was experimenting with homosexuality, and mom went all Andrea Yates on Butters. This is kind of sadistic, but I loved the end of the "Jared has Aides" episode, where both of Butter's parents hurry home to beat on him after the foul-mouthed Cartman fools them into thinking he's Butters. "Aw, man! If I were a little older, right now, I'd be soo jackin' it!" exclaims Cartman, seated in front of the Butters household with snacks.
"Cartoon Wars"-The best one of season ten so far. It rips on the recent Danish cartoon controversy, as well as the slack-assed 'writing' of the 'Family Guy' cartoon. Cartman heads to L.A. to convince the Fox network to not show the latest 'Family guy' episode, which is alleged to depict the Muslim prophet Mohammed. Cartman's rationale is that this will set off a wave of violence throughout the Muslim world, while he really just wants 'Family Guy' off the air 'cause he hates it. Kyle also heads to L.A. to stop Cartman, since Kyle is a fan of 'Family Guy'. Look for Bart Simpson as a special guest. Turns out that the 'Family Guy' writers are a bunch of manatees who grab random pop-culture references from one side of a water tank, then put them in a slot on the other side of the tank.
"AWESOME-O"-Another Cartman-vs.-Butters episode. Cartman dresses up as a personal robot for Butters, in order to trick Butters into spilling his personal embarrassing secrets to Cartman. The whole thing backfires when Butters reveals to 'AWESOME-O'/Cartman that Butters has a video of Cartman dressing up like Britney Spears. In a turn of events, Butters and Cartman find themselves in L.A., working for a movie studio cranking out story ideas for Adam Sandler vehicles. A good premise that goes off into orbit. Cartman gets busted, and the final scene is everyone laughing at Cartman while the Britney video is played...
"The Passion of the Jew"- With Mr. Gibson's recent arrest in the spotlight,(with his drunken anti-Semitic ravings) this episode manages to retain its relevance. After viewing Gibson's 'Passion of the Christ' movie, Cartman is moved, of course, to dress up like Adolf Hitler and begin a movement to exterminate the Jews. Meanwhile, Kyle, having seen the same movie, is moved to doubt his people's beliefs. And finally, Stan and Kenny do the right thing and head to Mel's place in Malibu and rightfully demand their ticket money back. (If you could do this in the real world, the Wachowski brothers would be currently cleaning my kitchen... Anyway...)
"Stupid Spoiled Whore"-If, like me, you've never understood the interest that's surrounded Paris Hilton, this is the perfect episode. She's a non-celebrity celebrity in the ultimate sense. Unlike previous hanger-ons, like Bianca Jagger and Kevin Federline, the only real talent that Paris Hilton has ever displayed in her life was to slither out of the vagina of a member of the wealthy Hilton clan. Her 'fame' came about in a reality show called 'The simple life' in which she and another giggling, mean-spirited piece of useless dog shit (who's only talent was that half of her squirted out of the nutsack of Lionel Ritchie), traveled the country working menial jobs in the service industry. The humor in that series, of course, was that while for most Americans, working these jobs fed their families and gave purpose to their lives, for Hilton and Ritchie, it was a fate worse than death. Actually, I'm lying when I say I don't get Paris' appeal. Most people regard her with the contempt I do. And some people regard her with the same contempt, but also because they feel that life's greatest injustice is that they themselves do not have Paris' selfish, cruel, greedy lifestyle. If America is to become a religious fundamentalist state, the upside is that people like this will either be shot, or sent to work for 18 hours a day in Revolutionary China-style 'reeducation camps'. I can only dream...
"All About the Mormons"-It's the inverse of the 'Scientology' episode, really. Parker and Stone just let the facts speak for themselves again, this time regarding the creation of the Mormon faith. In this case, since the majority of Mormons don't follow the goofier aspects of their faith, and focus on the positive, character-building values, they come out on top in this episode. The Mormon kid, Gary, seemed like such a good character. Why didn't they use him again?
So there you are. Whether season ten is a turning point for the show remains to be seen. Its high points remain Cartman, and especially his interactions with the hapless Butters. If South Park wants to remain topical, it would do well to realize that satire is a precision instrument, and not a sledgehammer.
The first few seasons of South Park were crude, (in both writing and execution) and relied on fart humor and non-sequitur jokes to fill space. (Robert Smith of the Cure? Why?) In the course of the series, they grew in skill and depth. Cartman's character stood out for me as an embodiment of all that was evil. And of course, hilarious. There were no depths that to which he would not sink. (faking his hand as a younger, sassier version of Jennifer Lopez, tricking an older kid into eating his parents, organizing fans of that fuckin' Mel Gibson S-and-M Jesus movie into Neo-Nazis, obtaining fetuses so he could have his own Shakey's pizza restaurant, the list goes on...) Trey Parker and Matt Stone learned to strip off the jokes that didn't work (killing Kenny got old real quick) and their comedic timing became impeccable. One aspect of their production became invaluable to them. Owing to the quick turnaround time(a week) of producing their show, they could comment on current events almost immediately, an impossibility in more traditional animated shows like the Simpsons.
It turns out that Parker and Stone's need to comment on current events is starting to become a liability as much as an asset these days. Consider the episode where Cartman merges, Tetuso-from-the-anime-Akira-like into his Trapper Keeper. The subplot was over a row in kindergarten regarding the election of a class president. This was run at about the time of the first presidential election of the Usurper, and was meant as a commentary of the colossal fuckup at the poll booths in Florida. (The undecided vote in the classroom is a little girl named Flora.) The thing is, unless you have a vested interest in the politics of 2000, the subplot slows down the show. In five years, anyone who watches the episode where Kenny's body is in a coma while Cartman fights the other boys to turn off Kenny's life support so Kenny won't be in an undead limbo,(actually, it's to get his PSP-this is Cartman, remember) won't instantly make the connection to the Terri Schalvo case. And even more recently, in series 10, the story of the hapless Towelie's attempt to break into the publishing world mirrors the scandal of James Frey's misleading drug rehab memoirs. Remember? No? The ground is practically disappearing under Parker and Stone's feet...
Which brings me to another beef I have with the show. Parker and Stone's politics could be described as 'Libertarian-lite' That is, they're fundamentally conservative with a liberal outlook on social issues. Their point of view in these post-liberal times is that if we can all agree to split the difference, we'd all get along much better. The problem is, liberals and conservatives these days consider each other's side as an outright betrayal of America itself. Right now, it seems like Parker and Stone are more into pushing buttons, especially liberal ones, than having anything relevant to say. They've got a bug up their ass especially with global warming. (They don't believe it exists.) You can argue that the media is blowing the concern for global warming out of proportion. You can't argue that global warming doesn't exist. In five years, I'll be sure to head down to the flooded Los Angeles basin on my jet-ski. When I find Parker and Stone floating on their raft over what used to be Santa Monica Boulevard and drinking their urine, I'll tell 'em, "TOOOLLLLD YOOOOOU SOOOOO!" When you start using your cartoon show as a format to grind your various axes, you wind up alienating your audience, especially since they came in expecting to be entertained.
Nonetheless, It's contained some of the funniest moments that I've ever seen in my life on television, and because this seems like the fan-boy thing to do, here's a list of my personal top-ten favorites: (in no particular order...)
"A Woodland Critter Christmas"- In the ultimate piss-take of every generic, sentimental, cloying, Rankin-Bass Christmas special, Stan discovers a gaggle of adorable woodland creatures straight out of Central Casting preparing for the birth of the savior of all woodland critters. Stan gets reluctantly charged with the task of slaying an 'evil' mountain lion trying to kill the porcupine mother. After completing his mission, he discovers the critters are devil-worshipers, and the mountain lion was good. When he tries to stop the Anti-Christ from coming into being, he finds the critters have taken Kyle as a host for the spawn of Satan. They defeat the critters, with some help from Santa Claus, and it turns out the whole story was a tale told by Cartman during their school class' storytime period. It was also yet another excuse for Cartman to rip on Kyle for being Jewish. "And everyone lived happily ever after! -except for Kyle, who died of AIDS, two weeks later!" "Goddamm you, Cartman!!"
"Trapped in the Closet"-It's easy to see why Scientologists hate this episode.(Stan takes an e-reading and is discovered to be the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard.) If you got the full news up front, you'd get your money back, A.S.A.P. Also, I've never been too fond of Tom Cruise as an actor, myself. He's essentially played one stock character his entire career (smug asshole getting his comeuppance) and his recent firing of his publicist in favor of his Scientologist sister was a bad move. The best form of satire, it seems, is to just let the facts speak for themselves.
"Casa Bonita"-Cartman goes to psychopathic lengths to prevent Butters from attending Kyle's birthday party at a popular family restaurant in Denver. It seems Kyle has finally wised up to Cartman's behavior and attempted to disassociate himself from Cartman. Eventually, Kyle relents and gives Cartman the caveat that if Butters can't attend, Cartman can take his place in the party. Naturally, this sets off the chain of events involving Cartman trying to remove Butters from the picture. You can imagine Parker and Stone setting up the scenario; "Well, so he can't actually KILL Butters, but anything else is fair game!"
"Scott Tenorman must Die!"-The first episode that illustrated the true depths to which the depraved Cartman would sink. After teenager Scott Tenorman sells Cartman his pubic hair,(since Cartman is too naive to understand one grows ones own 'pubes', Cartman feels that owning pubic hair, even someone else's, is a sign of maturity) Cartman spends the entire episode trying to exact a cartoon-cat-and-mouse revenge on the older boy. Things take a twist into the Grand Guiginol when Cartman feeds Scott his own dead parents in a chili cook-off.
"Butter's very own Episode" -If Cartman is my favorite character, then Butters is my second favorite. He's the yin to Cartman's yang, as it were. Naive, good-hearted, considerate, obedient. In the world of South Park, he hasn't got a chance. It seems everyone knew a kid like this in school. He's the kid who gets sent to the principal's office simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This episode has poor Butters trying to return home after his mom fails a murder attempt on his life. Seem's Butter's dad was experimenting with homosexuality, and mom went all Andrea Yates on Butters. This is kind of sadistic, but I loved the end of the "Jared has Aides" episode, where both of Butter's parents hurry home to beat on him after the foul-mouthed Cartman fools them into thinking he's Butters. "Aw, man! If I were a little older, right now, I'd be soo jackin' it!" exclaims Cartman, seated in front of the Butters household with snacks.
"Cartoon Wars"-The best one of season ten so far. It rips on the recent Danish cartoon controversy, as well as the slack-assed 'writing' of the 'Family Guy' cartoon. Cartman heads to L.A. to convince the Fox network to not show the latest 'Family guy' episode, which is alleged to depict the Muslim prophet Mohammed. Cartman's rationale is that this will set off a wave of violence throughout the Muslim world, while he really just wants 'Family Guy' off the air 'cause he hates it. Kyle also heads to L.A. to stop Cartman, since Kyle is a fan of 'Family Guy'. Look for Bart Simpson as a special guest. Turns out that the 'Family Guy' writers are a bunch of manatees who grab random pop-culture references from one side of a water tank, then put them in a slot on the other side of the tank.
"AWESOME-O"-Another Cartman-vs.-Butters episode. Cartman dresses up as a personal robot for Butters, in order to trick Butters into spilling his personal embarrassing secrets to Cartman. The whole thing backfires when Butters reveals to 'AWESOME-O'/Cartman that Butters has a video of Cartman dressing up like Britney Spears. In a turn of events, Butters and Cartman find themselves in L.A., working for a movie studio cranking out story ideas for Adam Sandler vehicles. A good premise that goes off into orbit. Cartman gets busted, and the final scene is everyone laughing at Cartman while the Britney video is played...
"The Passion of the Jew"- With Mr. Gibson's recent arrest in the spotlight,(with his drunken anti-Semitic ravings) this episode manages to retain its relevance. After viewing Gibson's 'Passion of the Christ' movie, Cartman is moved, of course, to dress up like Adolf Hitler and begin a movement to exterminate the Jews. Meanwhile, Kyle, having seen the same movie, is moved to doubt his people's beliefs. And finally, Stan and Kenny do the right thing and head to Mel's place in Malibu and rightfully demand their ticket money back. (If you could do this in the real world, the Wachowski brothers would be currently cleaning my kitchen... Anyway...)
"Stupid Spoiled Whore"-If, like me, you've never understood the interest that's surrounded Paris Hilton, this is the perfect episode. She's a non-celebrity celebrity in the ultimate sense. Unlike previous hanger-ons, like Bianca Jagger and Kevin Federline, the only real talent that Paris Hilton has ever displayed in her life was to slither out of the vagina of a member of the wealthy Hilton clan. Her 'fame' came about in a reality show called 'The simple life' in which she and another giggling, mean-spirited piece of useless dog shit (who's only talent was that half of her squirted out of the nutsack of Lionel Ritchie), traveled the country working menial jobs in the service industry. The humor in that series, of course, was that while for most Americans, working these jobs fed their families and gave purpose to their lives, for Hilton and Ritchie, it was a fate worse than death. Actually, I'm lying when I say I don't get Paris' appeal. Most people regard her with the contempt I do. And some people regard her with the same contempt, but also because they feel that life's greatest injustice is that they themselves do not have Paris' selfish, cruel, greedy lifestyle. If America is to become a religious fundamentalist state, the upside is that people like this will either be shot, or sent to work for 18 hours a day in Revolutionary China-style 'reeducation camps'. I can only dream...
"All About the Mormons"-It's the inverse of the 'Scientology' episode, really. Parker and Stone just let the facts speak for themselves again, this time regarding the creation of the Mormon faith. In this case, since the majority of Mormons don't follow the goofier aspects of their faith, and focus on the positive, character-building values, they come out on top in this episode. The Mormon kid, Gary, seemed like such a good character. Why didn't they use him again?
So there you are. Whether season ten is a turning point for the show remains to be seen. Its high points remain Cartman, and especially his interactions with the hapless Butters. If South Park wants to remain topical, it would do well to realize that satire is a precision instrument, and not a sledgehammer.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
More movies, ...And comics!
Movies:
Lady in the Water- Well, it's not the worst movie that I've ever seen in a theater... M. Night Shaymalayan's little homage to fairy tales falls apart on so many levels it's not even entertaining in a 'MSt3k' way. A water sprite comes to Earth to inspire a writer (M. Night Shaymalayan-ho,ho,ho) to publish his masterwork. She then has to rely on the help of several different denizens of an apartment complex to return her to her world.
The whole film is a homage to Shaymalayan's self-indulgence. (Note the blatant rip on film critics...) Shaymalayan's shallow well of ideas is starting to run dry. Surely actors aren't such a rare breed that he had to cast himself in a pivotal role?
Clerks II- Kevin's Smith's saving grace is that he just doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, he builds a giant costume of a heart and climbs inside. The question is, where does he go from here? Degrassi High: the movie? For what it's worth, the story's pretty solid, his stock cast does their job well enough,(Rosario Dawson blows everyone else out of the water, truthfully) and his gags are pretty funny. What's a little 'inter-species erotica' between friends, anyway?
Comics:
Acme Novelty Library #16 and The Acme Novelty Library Compendium - Given the glacial pace of his output, I'll probably be coming up on fifty by the time Chris Ware finished this little epic. On the other hand, it's Chris Ware, so you can count on me lining up for each and every one. I'd have to say that Ware's the flat-out best pure cartoonist working today, and I can prove it on a slide rule and a tablet of graph paper. Right now, it appears to be the prologue as to how the two geeky characters, Rusty Brown and Chalky White came to meet and be friends. Like all social outcasts, their friendship probably won't be based on mutual interests as much as that there's no one else to hang out with. Friendship by default, as it were. Chris Ware is possibly the most ANAL artist in history, so much so that I was concerned his sense of draftmanship would overwhelm the story. Not so, in the Rusty/Chalky prologue. The 'building stories' piece near the end, however, may diagram into incoherence. Like I said, however, I'm in for the long haul.
The Compendium is a collection of all the ephemera from his 'Jimmy Corrigan' stuff in the previous Acme Library issues, and I'd have to say it's literally impossible to read in one sitting. (I had to buy a magnifying glass, so's to enjoy it more fully.) I'm being facetious here, but I'm starting to get worried that Ware might wind up the 21st century equivalent of that 19th century cat artist, Louis Wain. (After Wain was committed to an asylum, his cat portraits became more and more geometric and abstract as to become indecipherable.)
Rocco Vargas - Spanish cartoonist Daniel Torres does a pastiche of the 'Terry and the Pirates'-style adventure genre, and it comes out good. If Torres had done it tongue-in-cheek, it would've been unbearable. In playing it straight, he reminds me that the old-fashioned adventure serial was a genre I didn't realize I missed. In this day and age, the only way you can pull it off without appearing too hokey is by putting an 'ironic' spin on it. (Like the Incredibles, Venture Brothers, the Tick...) My understanding is that Torres is an illustrator dabbling in comics. When commercial illustrators get into the comics medium, you get a terminal case of 'inventing the wheel'. By learning more from Milt Caniff then Will Eisner, Torres makes a solid, enjoyable yarn.
Ego and Hubris: The story of Michael Malice -The appropriately named Malice was a peripheral influence in Harvey Pekar's 'Our Movie Year'. After getting to know the guy, Pekar decided he deserved his own book. He's a self-involved near sociopath who proudly brags about the petty acts of revenge he's enacted against bosses or co-workers who've wronged him. During the course of the book, we learn about Malice's personal philosophy. (is there any doubt Ayn Rand figures heavily into his values?) We also get the subplot of Malice writing a screenplay about a semi-obscure rockabilly band from the 80's. I don't think Malice is evil, just really self-involved. (Malice's reaction to 9/11 was a little shocking to me, though) Here's the thing: Being witness to all of Malice's acts of corporate vengeance, I got the impression that this is par for the course in contemporary American business culture. It's taken as a given nowadays that anyone in business who's even moderately successful has gotten to where he is by being under-handed, scheming, and engaging in outright criminal behavior. I suspect Pekar's picked up on this as well, which is why Malice's corporate behavior is played up so prominently.
Johnny Ryan's output-Ca-ca and Poo-poo humor done well, if such a thing is possible. It's hard to go away offended, since Ryan saves his most savage beatings for the 'comics-as-art' elite. Case in point: one panel of Art Speigleman saying, 'It's not boring enough! I have to borify it even more!'
Schitzo #4 - In the released-ages-and-ages-ago Schitzo #2, Ivan Brunetti prints a letter from comic shaman Jim Woodring, where Woodring predicts that once Brunetti burns off the bitterness, self-hatred and nihilism from his work, Brunetti will be a force to be reckoned with. Woodring was right, except for one thing. Brunetti's mindset would've literally killed him if he didn't seek professional help, which he did. The price Brunetti pays for survival is an infrequent output. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a big tragedy. And in the case of a major talent like Brunetti, some art is better than no art at all, and a little goes a long way.
Lady in the Water- Well, it's not the worst movie that I've ever seen in a theater... M. Night Shaymalayan's little homage to fairy tales falls apart on so many levels it's not even entertaining in a 'MSt3k' way. A water sprite comes to Earth to inspire a writer (M. Night Shaymalayan-ho,ho,ho) to publish his masterwork. She then has to rely on the help of several different denizens of an apartment complex to return her to her world.
The whole film is a homage to Shaymalayan's self-indulgence. (Note the blatant rip on film critics...) Shaymalayan's shallow well of ideas is starting to run dry. Surely actors aren't such a rare breed that he had to cast himself in a pivotal role?
Clerks II- Kevin's Smith's saving grace is that he just doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, he builds a giant costume of a heart and climbs inside. The question is, where does he go from here? Degrassi High: the movie? For what it's worth, the story's pretty solid, his stock cast does their job well enough,(Rosario Dawson blows everyone else out of the water, truthfully) and his gags are pretty funny. What's a little 'inter-species erotica' between friends, anyway?
Comics:
Acme Novelty Library #16 and The Acme Novelty Library Compendium - Given the glacial pace of his output, I'll probably be coming up on fifty by the time Chris Ware finished this little epic. On the other hand, it's Chris Ware, so you can count on me lining up for each and every one. I'd have to say that Ware's the flat-out best pure cartoonist working today, and I can prove it on a slide rule and a tablet of graph paper. Right now, it appears to be the prologue as to how the two geeky characters, Rusty Brown and Chalky White came to meet and be friends. Like all social outcasts, their friendship probably won't be based on mutual interests as much as that there's no one else to hang out with. Friendship by default, as it were. Chris Ware is possibly the most ANAL artist in history, so much so that I was concerned his sense of draftmanship would overwhelm the story. Not so, in the Rusty/Chalky prologue. The 'building stories' piece near the end, however, may diagram into incoherence. Like I said, however, I'm in for the long haul.
The Compendium is a collection of all the ephemera from his 'Jimmy Corrigan' stuff in the previous Acme Library issues, and I'd have to say it's literally impossible to read in one sitting. (I had to buy a magnifying glass, so's to enjoy it more fully.) I'm being facetious here, but I'm starting to get worried that Ware might wind up the 21st century equivalent of that 19th century cat artist, Louis Wain. (After Wain was committed to an asylum, his cat portraits became more and more geometric and abstract as to become indecipherable.)
Rocco Vargas - Spanish cartoonist Daniel Torres does a pastiche of the 'Terry and the Pirates'-style adventure genre, and it comes out good. If Torres had done it tongue-in-cheek, it would've been unbearable. In playing it straight, he reminds me that the old-fashioned adventure serial was a genre I didn't realize I missed. In this day and age, the only way you can pull it off without appearing too hokey is by putting an 'ironic' spin on it. (Like the Incredibles, Venture Brothers, the Tick...) My understanding is that Torres is an illustrator dabbling in comics. When commercial illustrators get into the comics medium, you get a terminal case of 'inventing the wheel'. By learning more from Milt Caniff then Will Eisner, Torres makes a solid, enjoyable yarn.
Ego and Hubris: The story of Michael Malice -The appropriately named Malice was a peripheral influence in Harvey Pekar's 'Our Movie Year'. After getting to know the guy, Pekar decided he deserved his own book. He's a self-involved near sociopath who proudly brags about the petty acts of revenge he's enacted against bosses or co-workers who've wronged him. During the course of the book, we learn about Malice's personal philosophy. (is there any doubt Ayn Rand figures heavily into his values?) We also get the subplot of Malice writing a screenplay about a semi-obscure rockabilly band from the 80's. I don't think Malice is evil, just really self-involved. (Malice's reaction to 9/11 was a little shocking to me, though) Here's the thing: Being witness to all of Malice's acts of corporate vengeance, I got the impression that this is par for the course in contemporary American business culture. It's taken as a given nowadays that anyone in business who's even moderately successful has gotten to where he is by being under-handed, scheming, and engaging in outright criminal behavior. I suspect Pekar's picked up on this as well, which is why Malice's corporate behavior is played up so prominently.
Johnny Ryan's output-Ca-ca and Poo-poo humor done well, if such a thing is possible. It's hard to go away offended, since Ryan saves his most savage beatings for the 'comics-as-art' elite. Case in point: one panel of Art Speigleman saying, 'It's not boring enough! I have to borify it even more!'
Schitzo #4 - In the released-ages-and-ages-ago Schitzo #2, Ivan Brunetti prints a letter from comic shaman Jim Woodring, where Woodring predicts that once Brunetti burns off the bitterness, self-hatred and nihilism from his work, Brunetti will be a force to be reckoned with. Woodring was right, except for one thing. Brunetti's mindset would've literally killed him if he didn't seek professional help, which he did. The price Brunetti pays for survival is an infrequent output. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a big tragedy. And in the case of a major talent like Brunetti, some art is better than no art at all, and a little goes a long way.
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