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re: The Cabin in the Woods. TulaneLSU's 2011-12 movie review thread
Posted on 11/16/11 at 7:21 am to TulaneLSU
Posted on 11/16/11 at 7:21 am to TulaneLSU
The Green Hornet with the proliferation of comic book movies these days, you'd think the producers would have a standard pattern of success to follow. The Green Hornet moves away from any standard and tries to make a cutesy, Hangoverish comedy comic. It fails miserably. The lead of the show, Rogen, isn't remotely funny and his presence makes the movie fail from the very beginning. Why is this man a movie star? He's horrible. The co-star is low English speaker who is supposed to be made in the image of Bruce Lee. An hour into this goofy movie I was ready to leave, but I was tortured for another full hour. The only remotely interesting thing about this movie was the use of car weapons. Cameron Diaz is past her sell by date. 3/10.
The Green Lantern Is it possible to spend so much money to make something so ordinary? The makers of The Green Lantern have to get credit for spending prime filet prices on an Outback sirloin. The special animation was not very special; the characters were not interesting; the story was stale. Using a beautiful female in the role she had is like putting wasabi on the Eucharist wafer: totally unnecessary and self-defeating. 4/10
The Guard If you ever doubted that the people of the British Isles love their Westerns, do not look past The Guard. Listed as a comedy, it is better understood as a nod to the American Western. Yes, it is set on the west coast of Ireland. Yes, neither of its leads ever hop on a horse, though, there is a horse scene. Yes, there are no ropes, dust, tumbleweeds, or cowboy hats, save for the one worn by a former member of the IRA. Missing are the accidentals of the cowboy genre, but accidentals do not make something one thing or another.
So the question then becomes, what makes a cowboy movie? I would argue several essential characteristics: mysterious, morally ambivalent protagonist(s), a quest for something good, bad guys, reticent but concise language, a supporting cast ruled by suspicion of authority but by and large well intentioned, and ambuscades and a showdown. This movie has all of the above, so we can disregard the patina of comedy and look at it as an addition to the Western genre. That isn't to say the movie isn't funny; it's probably the funniest movie I've seen this year. But its humor is a smart humor, not like the trash that sophomoric Americans laugh at (thinking specifically of Hangover-Horrible Bosses poo-penis-drug humor). But humor doesn't drive the movie and its not a good lens through which to view it. The layering of humor through the movie is nearly perfect, like a steady wind that never offends. Its humor serves as a counter weight to the protagonist, a man who, out of uniform, loves hookers and blow, but a man of ideals and character in uniform. But no matter what he wears, melancholy is always close to his cuff. Heroic or stubborn, arrogant heroes often hide their melancholy with humor, and Sergeant Boyle is no exception.
I'm sure many viewers will see the question of this movie as "You're either really dumb or really smart," a once repeated description of Boyle by Cheadle's character. But that's not the question. The question we want to know is which mask does Boyle wear: the comic or the tragic? And we're left believing it's the tragic, and his comedy is only comedy because of his sadness. Like good Westerns, The Guard will leave you thinking about the flawed hero. So far, the best Western of the year. 7/10
The Green Lantern Is it possible to spend so much money to make something so ordinary? The makers of The Green Lantern have to get credit for spending prime filet prices on an Outback sirloin. The special animation was not very special; the characters were not interesting; the story was stale. Using a beautiful female in the role she had is like putting wasabi on the Eucharist wafer: totally unnecessary and self-defeating. 4/10
The Guard If you ever doubted that the people of the British Isles love their Westerns, do not look past The Guard. Listed as a comedy, it is better understood as a nod to the American Western. Yes, it is set on the west coast of Ireland. Yes, neither of its leads ever hop on a horse, though, there is a horse scene. Yes, there are no ropes, dust, tumbleweeds, or cowboy hats, save for the one worn by a former member of the IRA. Missing are the accidentals of the cowboy genre, but accidentals do not make something one thing or another.
So the question then becomes, what makes a cowboy movie? I would argue several essential characteristics: mysterious, morally ambivalent protagonist(s), a quest for something good, bad guys, reticent but concise language, a supporting cast ruled by suspicion of authority but by and large well intentioned, and ambuscades and a showdown. This movie has all of the above, so we can disregard the patina of comedy and look at it as an addition to the Western genre. That isn't to say the movie isn't funny; it's probably the funniest movie I've seen this year. But its humor is a smart humor, not like the trash that sophomoric Americans laugh at (thinking specifically of Hangover-Horrible Bosses poo-penis-drug humor). But humor doesn't drive the movie and its not a good lens through which to view it. The layering of humor through the movie is nearly perfect, like a steady wind that never offends. Its humor serves as a counter weight to the protagonist, a man who, out of uniform, loves hookers and blow, but a man of ideals and character in uniform. But no matter what he wears, melancholy is always close to his cuff. Heroic or stubborn, arrogant heroes often hide their melancholy with humor, and Sergeant Boyle is no exception.
I'm sure many viewers will see the question of this movie as "You're either really dumb or really smart," a once repeated description of Boyle by Cheadle's character. But that's not the question. The question we want to know is which mask does Boyle wear: the comic or the tragic? And we're left believing it's the tragic, and his comedy is only comedy because of his sadness. Like good Westerns, The Guard will leave you thinking about the flawed hero. So far, the best Western of the year. 7/10
This post was edited on 11/16/11 at 7:28 am
2
Posted on 11/16/11 at 7:21 am to TulaneLSU
Gulliver's Travels - it's official: Jack Black can only play one character and that character is not cool and not funny. This is a terrible movie, one of the worst of the years and there's zero redeeming about it. Acting, story, everything. Terrible. 0/10.
The Hangover II In continuation of the poo-poo-pee-pee-penis-vagina-drugs comedy of the late 90's and 2000's, the Hangover II has succeeded in making a movie of sheer debasement. The entire movie was uncreative, which at least you cannot say for the first one. The makers of this movie were content to do no writing and no significant directing because they knew the American public is stupid enough to pay to see this. I didn't laugh once. The only interesting thing was seeing Bangkok, but Jean Claude Van Damme movies do a better job with cinematography. 1/10
Harry Potter (2nd to last) Like Narnia I'd never seen any of its predecessors. Perhaps had I, I might have understood what was going on. I didn't. From start to finish I was confused and wondered who all these characters were. Fans of this movie obviously had an attachment to Harry before seeing this one because on its own, it is an utter failure. 4/10
Harry Potter (the last one) "'Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.'" So lives the entirety of the Harry Potter series, in my unread, unwatched opinion. All the books are one laywoman's descriptive sermon on Matthew 26. But the series' size and breadth is an elaborate misdirection. Only at the end do we realize what the series is about: the Garden of Gethsemane: coming to realize and face your fate, even if it means sacrificing everything.
In the one tear drops in the bowl scene, all is made known about Harry. I feel I needn't watch or read any of the books because all is peripheral to what is revealed in that bowl. All 20 hours of the film; all thousands of poorly written pages of words. All have been diverting our attention through cheeky wizardry and witchcraft from the heart of the story: Harry is his own foil. Jesus made a similar realization in the desert of temptation where sustenance, riches, and power are offered in exchange for disobedience of God and loyalty to himself (one might argue to Satan.) "It's the quality of one's convictions that determines success, not the number of followers" is how it's put elsewhere in the movie. This providential philosophy is how Jesus, the prophets, and all the great martyrs have lived. It's how the great posters on TD have lived and posted as well. For all the stupid spells, gadgets, brooms, and mutant creatures everywhere, Harry Potter is a morality tale about pursuing the good despite the cost.
I enjoyed this movie much more than the other two HP movies I saw. Despite its dark setting and CGI, the characters seemed to matter a little more and the story came together quite well. As the nerds in the theater next to me wept during much of the last thirty minutes of the film, I felt a surge of internal emotion. Not enough to elicit magical tears, but enough to give the movie a positive rating. 7/10
The Hangover II In continuation of the poo-poo-pee-pee-penis-vagina-drugs comedy of the late 90's and 2000's, the Hangover II has succeeded in making a movie of sheer debasement. The entire movie was uncreative, which at least you cannot say for the first one. The makers of this movie were content to do no writing and no significant directing because they knew the American public is stupid enough to pay to see this. I didn't laugh once. The only interesting thing was seeing Bangkok, but Jean Claude Van Damme movies do a better job with cinematography. 1/10
Harry Potter (2nd to last) Like Narnia I'd never seen any of its predecessors. Perhaps had I, I might have understood what was going on. I didn't. From start to finish I was confused and wondered who all these characters were. Fans of this movie obviously had an attachment to Harry before seeing this one because on its own, it is an utter failure. 4/10
Harry Potter (the last one) "'Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.'" So lives the entirety of the Harry Potter series, in my unread, unwatched opinion. All the books are one laywoman's descriptive sermon on Matthew 26. But the series' size and breadth is an elaborate misdirection. Only at the end do we realize what the series is about: the Garden of Gethsemane: coming to realize and face your fate, even if it means sacrificing everything.
In the one tear drops in the bowl scene, all is made known about Harry. I feel I needn't watch or read any of the books because all is peripheral to what is revealed in that bowl. All 20 hours of the film; all thousands of poorly written pages of words. All have been diverting our attention through cheeky wizardry and witchcraft from the heart of the story: Harry is his own foil. Jesus made a similar realization in the desert of temptation where sustenance, riches, and power are offered in exchange for disobedience of God and loyalty to himself (one might argue to Satan.) "It's the quality of one's convictions that determines success, not the number of followers" is how it's put elsewhere in the movie. This providential philosophy is how Jesus, the prophets, and all the great martyrs have lived. It's how the great posters on TD have lived and posted as well. For all the stupid spells, gadgets, brooms, and mutant creatures everywhere, Harry Potter is a morality tale about pursuing the good despite the cost.
I enjoyed this movie much more than the other two HP movies I saw. Despite its dark setting and CGI, the characters seemed to matter a little more and the story came together quite well. As the nerds in the theater next to me wept during much of the last thirty minutes of the film, I felt a surge of internal emotion. Not enough to elicit magical tears, but enough to give the movie a positive rating. 7/10
This post was edited on 11/16/11 at 7:28 am
Posted on 12/13/11 at 12:54 pm to TulaneLSU
quote:
The Green Hornet with the proliferation of comic book movies these days, you'd think the producers would have a standard pattern of success to follow. The Green Hornet moves away from any standard and tries to make a cutesy, Hangoverish comedy comic. It fails miserably. The lead of the show, Rogen, isn't remotely funny and his presence makes the movie fail from the very beginning. Why is this man a movie star? He's horrible. The co-star is low English speaker who is supposed to be made in the image of Bruce Lee. An hour into this goofy movie I was ready to leave, but I was tortured for another full hour. The only remotely interesting thing about this movie was the use of car weapons. Cameron Diaz is past her sell by date. 3/10.
The Green Lantern Is it possible to spend so much money to make something so ordinary? The makers of The Green Lantern have to get credit for spending prime filet prices on an Outback sirloin. The special animation was not very special; the characters were not interesting; the story was stale. Using a beautiful female in the role she had is like putting wasabi on the Eucharist wafer: totally unnecessary and self-defeating. 4/10
The Guard If you ever doubted that the people of the British Isles love their Westerns, do not look past The Guard. Listed as a comedy, it is better understood as a nod to the American Western. Yes, it is set on the west coast of Ireland. Yes, neither of its leads ever hop on a horse, though, there is a horse scene. Yes, there are no ropes, dust, tumbleweeds, or cowboy hats, save for the one worn by a former member of the IRA. Missing are the accidentals of the cowboy genre, but accidentals do not make something one thing or another.
So the question then becomes, what makes a cowboy movie? I would argue several essential characteristics: mysterious, morally ambivalent protagonist(s), a quest for something good, bad guys, reticent but concise language, a supporting cast ruled by suspicion of authority but by and large well intentioned, and ambuscades and a showdown. This movie has all of the above, so we can disregard the patina of comedy and look at it as an addition to the Western genre. That isn't to say the movie isn't funny; it's probably the funniest movie I've seen this year. But its humor is a smart humor, not like the trash that sophomoric Americans laugh at (thinking specifically of Hangover-Horrible Bosses poo-penis-drug humor). But humor doesn't drive the movie and its not a good lens through which to view it. The layering of humor through the movie is nearly perfect, like a steady wind that never offends. Its humor serves as a counter weight to the protagonist, a man who, out of uniform, loves hookers and blow, but a man of ideals and character in uniform. But no matter what he wears, melancholy is always close to his cuff. Heroic or stubborn, arrogant heroes often hide their melancholy with humor, and Sergeant Boyle is no exception.
I'm sure many viewers will see the question of this movie as "You're either really dumb or really smart," a once repeated description of Boyle by Cheadle's character. But that's not the question. The question we want to know is which mask does Boyle wear: the comic or the tragic? And we're left believing it's the tragic, and his comedy is only comedy because of his sadness. Like good Westerns, The Guard will leave you thinking about the flawed hero. So far, the best Western of the year. 7/10
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