02.19.08
Posted in Film Review at 2:27 pm by Administrator
Harold and Kumar shocked the world when it didn’t turn out to be the most obvious corporate whoring of a product in Hollywood history. White Castle had its very name in the title and the main characters were off to eat these supposedly delicious burgers. Yet somehow inside of this evil concept we were given a stoner duo that could join the ranks of Cheech and Chong or even Jay and Silent Bob. It even dared to squeeze in a little subversive message about race relations and the pursuit of the American dream.
When we last saw our two heroes, they had just feasted on 30 burgers and Harold was going to follow his newfound ladylove to Amsterdam. The film continues instantly from that very last moment. After being wrongly imprisoned for being terrorists they escape from Guantanamo and make their way back to the U.S.I can imagine the writers sitting in a room locked away for hours trying to write another movie titled Harold and Kumar go to Amsterdam but for one reason or another it didn’t work or maybe it would be too much like Euro trip, who knows, all we do know is that instead they took a different route to get these two back in a car and on the run towards comedic hilarity with plenty of great moments that I won’t spoil.
Surprisingly the escape from Guantanamo Bay takes all but the first ten minutes of the film which gives our heroes plenty of time to run from the law, smoke plenty of weed, and run into plenty of weird characters. I’m pleased to report this sequel should please any fans of the first film. It’s consistently funny all through out. Its a pleasure to once again watch Kal Penn and John Cho play against each other with the same flare that made them such a joy to watch the first time around. Along the way the writers have scripted quite a number of hit or miss set pieces. Some will feel a little too familiar and it seems like they are just treading a lot of the same old racial jokes such as the scary red neck in the woods gag. This is easily forgiven though when we’re given plenty of random female nudity to keep us distracted when the film slows down for the obligatory plot moments.
Richard Christy does his best to play the evil ignorant white government employee but so much of it is forced that his best moments are few and far between. Due to popular demand Neil Patrick Harris returns and does about everything you expect him to do. Unfortunately a chance to take doogie on a trip unlike any other (I’ll give you a hint it involves a great white unicorn that appears out of nowhere) is squandered. Which brings me to my over all problem with the film. It lacks the element of surprise that made so many of the first films jokes so funny. Instead of repeating some of those best moments they could have created a few more new ones instead. Harold’s mission to go after Maria is all but lost and unfairly rushed in the last five minutes. These are really all just the typical problems you get with any sequel so take them as tiny annoyances instead of big problems. They don’t make or break the film and in the end I loved the first and really liked the second.
3/5
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02.12.08
Posted in Film Review at 5:33 pm by Administrator
I’m not going to review this film persay as I find myself to be very late to the party on this one. So instead I thought I’d take a more analytical approach to discussing the film and my thoughts on certain controversial choices made both by the author of the original work and the Coen brothers.
While its tempting to get right into the walking goliath, Anton Chigur (Javier Bardem), I’d rather start where the film chooses to end and that is with Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones). Bell is the key to the entire film. No matter how distracted you are by the exciting chase going on between Anton and Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) the heart and soul of this picture is within the tired old eyes of Bell and his inability to deal with modern criminals. He’s an old school sheriff who was once able to deal with crime without even needing his gun. Throughout most of the film he’s investigating Antons brutal murders while at the same time avoiding any and all possibility of running into the man responsible for it all. He is impotent and unable to handle the changing world around him. There in lies the reveal to the films title, he’s just too old for this scary new America he now finds himself in.
The rest of the story is a brutal chase between Llewelyn, the finder of millions of dollars, and Anton a man hired to get it back. If you had stumbled into this picture not knowing who directed it you could very well mistake this part of the film for your average B level action film. Anton isn’t too far removed from his less respective cousins ,Jason Vorheez and Michael Myers, as a soul less serial killer with no remorse and the delusion that he has some insight into human nature. He deals out death randomly giving some the choice and others are not so lucky. Anton is an unstoppable force given almost super human abilities leaving a train of blood behind his every step. Its easy to give into this character but it seems as though he belongs in a horror film, not a drama such as this.
On the other side of the coin we have Llewelyn a man who finds millions of dollars and takes no time to figure out that he’s willing to risk it all just to have it. We don’t get any real sense of this character other then his life may not have been all that great if he’s willing to throw it away so easily. He proves to be quite a formidable foe when facing off against Anton although this aspect of the film is the most misleading for reasons I can only get into after providing you with a huge spoiler warning.
HUGE SPOILER WARNING
This film wants to be two entirely different movies. On the one hand it wants you to enjoy the brutal deaths, the chase between Anton and Llewelyn, and just bask in the B level action. On the other hand you have Bell spouting off long monologues about working on the force for years, dreams, and other such art-house philosophies as if somehow this movie, at the last minute, decided it wanted to have its cake and eat it to. It forsakes its action movie roots and attempts to discredit itself, the audience, and its own logic to appease critics and be different simply for its own sake. Their is no reason not to show Llewelyn’s off screen death by the mexicans, other then to infuriate movie goers by snubbing your nose at convention. The film dares you to hate it. I have yet to meet one person whose mind didn’t wander during Bell’s last words about a dream he had. I didn’t want my mind to wander off but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t like listening to Grandpa on the Simpsons going on and on about nothing. What on earth was McCarthy thinking? What on earth were the Coens thinking? Who truly is satisfide by this ending? I can’t imagine unless you want to feel like an elitest pretentious film lover that can somehow “get” what cannot be gotten.
I have no trouble grasping the films obvious symbolism and metaphors. Anton is the powerful, modern, liberal, left wing force that cannot be stopped. He tramples on the south, destroys the red states, defies conservative thinking and cannot be understand by characters who are old and from a different day and time. This country is changing and he is the symbol for that change. He is also out of his mind and pretends to spout philosophical ramblings on death. I would like to see us put to death this brand of serial killer. You do not have any special insight into human behaviour because you kill them. Simple as that. You are insane that is all. Anton thinks he knows something that we don’t but he’s really just a psychotic murderer. Perhaps this also says something about liberals as well, eh?
I can fairly assess that No Country for Old Men is a fine movie with an identity crisis. A good chase film that aspired to be more and failed in the process.
3.5/5
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Posted in Film analysis at 4:40 pm by Administrator
Some films are sold with big name stars attached to their title while others are sold based on the name of a writer or director involved with the film. There Will be Blood is helmed by one of todays most promising directors, P.T. Anderson, who has decided to lose the dots and be known as Paul Thomas Anderson which is somehow very befitting as he has shed alot of skin as a director and has grown considerably with every film he directs.
I admit I did not jump on the P.T. boat after Boogie Nights. Not even the over indulgent three hour epic Magnolia truly sold me on his abilities. It was obvious that he was talented but their was a detachment to his films that was always keeping me away. Punch Drunk Love sucked me in by being one of the most artistically charming movies I had ever seen. It was concise in its brief 90 minute running time but it was as if Anderson had demasked himself revealing that without the length he was able to tell a heart warmingly bizarre story with two very strong performances and on top of that never lose his integrity as an artist along the way. Suddenly a light went off in my head, this was a name I was going to follow very closely as I pursued my love of film. Even his past efforts had gotten better because of it.
Its obvious that Punch Drunk Love was a short term indulgence as he has clearly returned to working in his preffered longer format. There Will be Blood is a slow burn that requires you to dwell inside its humble frame and enjoy every second for the bits of cinematic nourishment it offers. Lets begin with the asthetics of the proceedings. Anderson has crafted a messy, dirt filled portrait for this 1892 period piece. More often then not our cast is sweaty, ugly, and covered in the black oil they want so badly. Quite literally everyone eventually gets a face full of the black gold that is mined out of the ground. Anderson is rubbing their faces in it almost angrily giving them the very thing they so greedily seek.
Needless to say Daniel Day Lewis is oil man extrordinaire, Danny Plainview, he carries his son with him to all of his dealings. His moto, ironically enough, is to speak plainly and honestly. Watching a bastard turn into a full on heartless monster is staged in such a way as to make Plainview both hero and villian in Andersons little tale. Whenever Plainview isn’t buying land and raking in the dough he’s tending to his son with a strange mixture of sentiment and repulsion. He admits that he doesn’t like most people, sometimes this even includes his own son and his love of money drives him further and further away from them.
I realize this review has overstayed it’s welcome but truly great films inspire deep analysis of their characters and events. There Will be Blood is such a film and I hope it will inspire you to read between the lines as well.
5/5
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