apulrang Blog

No Frills

apulrang — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:03:06 GMT

This may be the perfect Cold War / technology-paranoid film. There's nothing extra, and no relief offered. I was pretty sure I knew the outcome by the time the President explained what "Colossus" was supposed to do. But that didn't make the relatively short trip to doom uninteresting. The acting is pretty good, though not spectacular, but what really makes the film is the brilliant twist on science out of control, with two computers working togeyher, like two people who meet by accident, and find themselves to be kindred spirits. The film can also be read as a backhanded argument for cooperation between the Cold War rivals, and also as an endictment of anyone's ambitions to do good in the world. The final speech by Colossus could have been written by a staunch libertarian about any modern welfare state. I disagree with the implications, but the film is good enough to make the point worth considering.

Nuanced Disability Depiction

apulrang — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:30:39 GMT

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is a better depiction of disability than most reviews would indicate. It isn't "heartbreaking", or even especially "uplifting". It is, above all, authentic and absorbing. It seems like "Jean-Do" Bauby was absorbed by the experience of his disability, though obviously he also experienced heartbreak and uplift. What keeps him going, as he says in the film, is imagination and, of course, his one good eye.

From the perspective of someone with a disability, I was very pleased to see that for the most part, we are spared splashy temper tantrums from the disabled person, calmed by a scolding non-disabled mentor. One scene suggests this familiar formulation, but steers away at the last moment.

One thing I do wonder about is whether Jean-Do got to know any of the other residents of his hospital. In the film, they are treated as scenery, in a borderline offensive and definitely dehumanizing way.

This is a very "good" disability depiction, in a "great" film.

In My Backyard

apulrang — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:07:44 GMT

I wrote this email to a friend, about Frozen River, filmed in my backyard ...

"I finally watched it. Wow. This is a really great film!

I can understand why some local Native Americans don't like it. The depiction of reservation life is not flattering. This is especially true, I think, if the Native Americans who were at the screening really buy into or want to believe that reservation society is really quite noble. The movie depicts aspects of official reservation power structure as being fairly corrupt ... the bingo parlors, and the fact that they condone families stealing babies from disfavored family members. The smugglers are the closest things to good guys, yet they are the bad guys of the reservation ... or at least they are looked down upon.

Then there's the fact that the white woman who upped the ante on the smuggling ... arguably getting the native woman in worse trouble ... ended up a selfless hero. That's gotta be a bit irritating to Native sensibilities.

On the ot her side ...

The movie beautifully depicts that poor is poor. The white woman's troubles weren't all that different from the natives' troubles. Family problems and money pretty much accounts for all of it. That's what made these two women such good partners and friends, even though they started out as adversaries.

Other observations:

- I'm not sure, but I think the actor who played Lila was fantastic. Its hard to tell, since the character is so low-key, but I think she did a great job.

- Ray's older son was great, too.

- I really wanted to know more about why Lila's mother-in-law took her child. But I'm glad they left that vague.

- One thing they didn't do very well was sell the idea that Lila was anti-white. Though, I do think it was very significant when she said several times that they wouldn't be stopped ... and if stopped, it would be alright ... because Ray was white. "Remember, you're white!" I wanted to say, "Yeah, but you aren't!"

- Another group that could be offended by this movie ... French Canadians! I mean, their contacts on the other side were pretty sleazy, no?

- I love the local authenticity ... Route 37, "the Moira Road", Tom Messner doing the weather on Channel 5.

Anyway, the whole thing was pretty damned awesome!"

Twists On Familiar Twists

apulrang — Sun, 10 May 2009 20:19:32 GMT

At first, In Bruges appears to rely on plot and character "twists" that you've seen enough times that they aren't really "twists" anymore. The thoughtful hitman. Two contrasting buddies, one crude, the other refined. The comically-menacing crime boss.

What you get here are new twists on these themes. The hitman is thoughtful in truly meaningful and difficult ways. The "crude" buddy may not actually be such a bad guy. The Mob boss's sense of "honor" is both familiar and refreshingly flawed.

Meanwhile, the film truly is "a feast for the eyes".

Big Mistake

apulrang — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:47:00 GMT

The fatal flaw in this second installment in the Chronicles of Narnia series is the completely unnecessary addition of a sort of love story between Caspian and Susan. It's not at all even hinted at in the book, and adds nothing to the movie. In fact, it overshadows and ruins what would otherwise have been a fairly decent depiction of one of my favorite of the Narnia books. "Dawn Treader" could be outstanding, or horrible.

A Good Start

apulrang — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:40:41 GMT

Pretty good, considering the inherent difficulty of reproducing the spirit and feel of the books on screen. The essentials are there, with nothing unnecessary added.

Light, But Rich, too

apulrang — Sun, 03 May 2009 23:56:16 GMT

Some Girls is light but tasty entertainment covering a rich center. It's fun to spot Patrick Dempsey, Jennifer Connelly, and Sheila Kelley early in their careers, and Michael is one lucky guy to be pursued by such beautiful, if perplexing, young women. But the real core of the story involves granny, who in her dementia connects with Michael, and affects him in ways as surprising to us as to him.

Funny, but ...

apulrang — Sun, 03 May 2009 04:00:40 GMT

Not bad, but the commentary is much, much funnier. I mean, Lou Rawls?

Yes, There Will Be Blood ...

apulrang — Sat, 02 May 2009 20:31:26 GMT

I waited for over a week after I received Let The Right One In through Netflix before actually watching it. I liked what I'd heard about the premise ... a boy on the cusp of adolescence befriends a new neighbor girl on the verge of maturity ... who turns out to be a vampire. Oh, and it takes place in Sweden. That last bit really intrigued me, but then intimidated me. Well, I needn't have worried, because the dialog is almost unnecessary, and spare enough to make the subtitles easy to follow. And by all means, don't watch the dubbed version; it sounds silly. All you really need to know is the setup. Still, you might want to be prepared for some grisly violence. Probably more disturbing is the fact that the story is really about bullying and revenge.

After ten viewings

apulrang — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:31:35 GMT

Things I noticed on my tenth viewing of Brick: (with some help from a friend watching it for the first time)

Brendan never actually tells Brain that he found Emily dead. And Brain never explicitly acknowledges the he understands this.

Stoic as he is, Brendan doesn't seem upset enough at Emily's death, but his brief breakdown much later in the story makes up for this, and we instinctively know it's his grief over Emily's death.

Is Brendan faking or exaggerating his injuries in order to mislead Laura or keep he off balance? On his way to the meeting at the flood runoff pipe, he staggers away, seemingly about to collapse. Then he suddenly straightens out and walks steadily and with purpose. I always thought we were seeing his mind's resolve overcome his body's breakdown in real time, but now I think he was faking it.

One of the most sympathetic main characters, other than Brendan, turns out to be Emily's killer. This tipped me off to what should have been obvious all along. This is a true Noir film, in that it is very anti-woman. All of these guys are, to one degree or another, sympathetic, and they all come to grief or worse because of women who are either scheming or hapless.

Still, Emily explains better than any true Noir the motivation behind at least her seemingly stupid behavior and decisions ... the cynicism of her Noir man drove her to it.