Tuesday, March 11, 2008

...a few notable movies of late have passed through my DVD player recently...mostly all good stuff...

"Across the Universe" - this movie creatively weaves the lyrics of classic Beatles songs and an assortment of major and minor characters based on Beatles songs thrown into a mixture of plot lines and themes based on the current events that took place in the late '60's, creating a rich tapestry that is visually stunning and fun to sing along to at times...but as much of a Beatles fan as i am and was raised to be, i found myself wanting to like this flick far more than i wound up truly liking it... for the most part, many of the scenes come off like bad theater, as classic Beatles tunes are overshadowed by hackneyed dance routines and forced plot lines...the only redeeming aspect of the film came about half-way when a very Kesey-like character was introduced into the mix, leading his merry group of "pranksters" across the land in a colorfully painted old school bus, determined to seek out the other visionary lysergic seer from the east coast (Leary)...however, despite the fantastic audio and visual onslaught the film's director conjures up for this overtly trippy portion of the movie, it's practically lost behind a cloud of shit created by the hack job of acting showcased by global savior and angel Bono of U2 fame...what a douche...

"Michael Clayton" - solid movie all around...i found it a little tough to get into at first but once i was into it, the 2 hours passed like minutes as i watched it...if a movie stars George Clooney, i generally make a point to avoid it - the Cohen's "Oh Brother.." being the lone exception...but i must admit, he puts in a commendable performance certainly worthy of his Oscar nomination...fantastic ending too...kept me engaged till the final frame...

"King of Kong: A Fistfull of Quarters" - i can't say enough about how excellent a documentary this was. On the surface, it's a story about a long-standing Donkey Kong high-score from '82 held by super-geek Billy Mitchell and how one man's determination (Steve Wiebe) to match and exceed the score 20 years later somewhat shadows the struggle of the anyman when he's up against any unfair and insurmountable odds. If i go into too much detail, i'll spoil it for those that have yet to see it...but by the end of the film, i found myself flowing with feelings and thoughts about what i just witnessed, stronger than i would have ever guessed...which is one of the best methods to gage the effectiveness of any documentary or film. Most films these days are as forgettable on the drive home from the movie theater as they are two weeks later. Whereas a really good film will stick with you for a long time, and in some rare cases - forever...be it a certain scene, a particular passage of dialogue or an authentic raw emotion conjured by a series of moving images, an honest approach to a hard-hitting subject matter, a transcendent acting performance or any combination thereof...i'm not saying this documentary will have the same effect on everybody, but i do urge you to give it a shot. If for no other reason, you'll definitely find yr'self laughing at how serious this group of grown men take their video game playing. reminding us all what can happen when we take ourselves too seriously on this earth and lose perspective on whats really important. Incidentally - it must be noted that Billy Mitchell is a huge douche too...not as big as Bono...but close...

"Into the Wild" - an excellent movie and one of those rare instances in which a movie adaptation holds up exceptionally well against it's initial literary format, faithfully representing the story in a visually captivating way. Emile Hirsch puts in a command performance as the main character, Christopher McCandless - an idealistic, independent and intelligent young man in his early twenties with a mission to live off-the-grid as it were, looking to survive in the Alaskan wilderness free and far from the everyday compromises man puts upon his soul in order to survive...and just as free and far from help and assistance, a stubborn ideal that becomes his own demise. Additionally, the actors and actresses that play the random, colorful personalities to pop in and out of his life as he takes his journey are equally compelling and are as essential to the movie as Emile's portrayal of McCandless is. Specifically, the roles of the grain farmer (Vince Vaughn), the female rubbertramp (Catherine Keener) and the elderly widower (Hal Holbrook) were acted out with such grace and craft, they leave a lasting impression on you even though their screen time is minimal. Yr' left to wonder about their continued existences as much as yr' left to ponder where McCandless' quest went wrong.

"The Darjeeling Limited" - another quirky offering from Wes Anderson starring at least one Wilson brother and Jason Schwartzman. This wasn't my favorite effort from Wes but even when the storyline is weak, as this one is, his unique sense of cinematic visual style is so powerful, it almost becomes its own character. Between his vibrant use of vivid colors, dialogue full of wit and realism and a sort of hipster kitchiness for materialistic props and possessions, Anderson continues to blaze a cinematic trail of excellence with every movie he makes. He has proven himself to be one of the finest filmmakers of this generation and certainly has the potential to be considered as one of the greats in the future.