An unapologetic art house movie, representing the best and worst that implies. It’s beautifully shot. The casting and acting top-notch. But it suffers from the filmmaker’s pretension (“You want endings, filmgoers? Well $%^& you!”) and self-importance. Much has been made about how it depicts fascism’s possible roots in Germany. To which I say, dude…quit trying to sell me something.
February 12, 2011
February 10, 2011
Holes in 13 seconds
The film relies too heavily on flashbacks, sometimes on top of flashbacks. But the story is compelling and the performances winning, including newcomer Shia LeBeouf, proving that, snarkiness aside, he’s got acting in his blood. And we get another reminder that we can have gravity in a movie without the nastiness that filmmakers often equate with it.
We Were Soldiers in 13 seconds
The battle scenes are tight and sometimes disturbingly visceral. But the scenes at home are creaky-plenty of men and women sacrificed lives and family to serve their country, but I doubt if many of them said, “I’m glad I’m dying for my country.” More conflict at home would have seemed more human, and made the sacrifice more poignant.
The Road in 13 seconds
Viggo Mortensen leads his son across a post-apocalyptic America. It’s not so much an adventure like Book of Eli as much as a morality play–is it ever okay to deny kindness to strangers? How far would you go to protect your family? It’s pretty gloomy most of the time, to great effect, as our wanderers watch the world totter and fall around them.
The Tourist in 13 seconds
Angelina Jolie is the best thing about this movie. How else can I say it? SHE LOOKS GOOD. Curiously, everything else seems static, including a dopey Johnny Depp, who actually seems to be sleepwalking most of the time. Never has Europe felt so boring.
Hard Boiled in 13 seconds
I love this movie, not only for the ballet-like action sequences, but because it’s unlike anything that could be made in America. Shootouts in a hospital? Babies getting a front-row seat to mass gunplay? I don’t know if Hong Kong makes them like this any more, and some might say that’s good. For them, I guess there’s always Avatar.
Tip o' My Brain 